Are You Getting Enough Sleep?

Ever wonder what happens to your body when you sleep? All sorts of things happen to our bodies, including some activities that you may not even be aware of! According to HuffPost, your body actually heals itself. It's the time that blood pressure drops, muscles begin to repair themselves, and energy is restored. We all live busy lives and some may not get enough sleep during the night, but what exactly is enough sleep?

What is enough?

According to the American Psychology Association, most adults need about 6-8 hours of sleep per night. This allows your body to regain enough energy for the next day. In fact, our bodies need about 90 minutes of rest to fully go into Rapid Eye Movement (R.E.M.); this is where the body does most of its best work! There is a practice that most athletes perform, and it helps. When athletes know they have a meet or practice in the morning, they time out their sleep patterns by 90-minute intervals. For example, if they know they are going to be up late the night before and they only have time for a 5-hour nap, they will stay up an extra 30 minutes so that they can sleep for three consecutive 90-minute intervals.

What does lack of sleep do to our bodies?

Lack of sleep causes a handful of issues, such as:

· Mood Shifts

· Weight Gain

· Cardiovascular Health

· Problems with learning and memory

Chronic behaviors of not getting enough sleep can have many negative effects on our bodies and brains. We can become more irritable, which can affect our day to day lives. It can increase our chances of weight gain, which then could set us up for diabetes. Lack of sleep can also cause cardiovascular problems, which may lead to an increased susceptibility to heart attacks and strokes.

On the plus side, according to the Harvard Medical School, getting enough sleep can actually help fight cancer. (If you would like to read more about this please click on the link above).

What Can You Do?

There are a few things we can do to help with insomnia or the lack of sleep.

· We can decrease time on electronics, including watching T.V. The bright lights stimulate our brains and make it very hard to fall asleep on time.

· Receive massages on a regular basis (every other week). This with help our bodies prepare for rest by switching on our sympathetic nervous system. This system is responsible for increasing melatonin release which helps us fall asleep faster.

· We can also create and stick to a sleeping schedule. Once a sleeping schedule is created and used for a period of time, your body will adapt and sleeping will no longer be a problem!