The Importance of a Good Night’s Sleep --- Part 3 ---
If you have not read --- Part 1 --- of this Sleep series just click here ...
If you have not read --- Part 2 --- of this Sleep series just click here ...
Over the last two post we have talked about how much sleep you need and what can happen if you do not get enough. Let us now look at some deeper issues.
Mental health
Sleep plays a significant role in mental health. Sleep deficiency alters activity in the brain and impacts our ability to control our emotions and behaviours as well as being able to cope with change. Read More ...
Think of children when they haven’t had enough sleep – they are irritable, impulsive and often highly emotional! The same thing occurs in adults, although it may be less obvious because we have learnt (to a certain extent) to control our emotions.
Poor sleep is also linked to depression with increasing new research to suggest sleep exacerbates mental illness. It thought that sleep disruptions may even precede mental illness, making it an area of interest for early intervention.
Safety
Inadequate sleep can also cause significant harm to oneself and others. In fact it is said that 1 in 6 car accidents are caused by fatigue. This is because a lack of sleep results in slower reaction times, making more mistakes and even the incidence of microsleeps where someone experiences a brief unintentional loss of attention or consciousness.
When operating a car or heaving machinery, any one of these can end up being fatal!
Our need for sleep should never be underestimated. It is our bodies chance to restore, reboot and repair, so make sure you are getting enough!
The last blog Post about sleep will look at tips, Herbs, treatment suggestions, and thing you can do that may help.
Take care and happy sleeping.
If you have not read --- Part 1 --- of this Sleep series just click here ...
If you have not read --- Part 2 --- of this Sleep series just click here ...
Olivia.
Olivia holds a Bachelor of Science degree and is an Accredited Practising Dietitian.
