You probably already know how important healthy eating and keeping active are for your health and wellbeing but two out of three doesn’t get you there!  Research has also shown how important a good night’s sleep is for good health. To maximise your chances of good health and performing at your peak both personally and professionally you need to sleep well.

The benefits of good sleeping habits are more than just old wives tales – they’re well documented. Deep, optimal sleep has been proven to provide countless benefits to daily life – including a strengthened immune system, increased memory, a trimmer waist line and improved reaction time.

 

Good sleep helps you look and feel better:

 

People who have less than five hours sleep a night tend to have more physical ailments, such as headaches and stomachs upsets and also undergo changes in metabolism similar to those occurring with normal ageing. Small wonder many of us look worse for wear after a poor night’s sleep! You can spend a fortune on anti-aging skin creams, but you need to sleep well to have healthy, glowing skin. When you’re fast asleep, the body goes into repair mode and regenerates skin, blood and brain cells, as well as muscles.

 

It boosts your immune system

 

There is a clear connection between good sleep and disease. For example, when deep sleep is interrupted it affects the body’s metabolism and reduces its ability to convert sugar into energy, heightening the risk of diabetes according to a recent study reported in the Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study found that just three nights of disrupted sleep can have the same effect on the body’s ability to control blood sugar levels as putting on more than a stone in weight.

 

Other research shows that those who sleep five hours or less a night are twice as likely to suffer from hypertension (high blood pressure) and heart disease as those who sleep for seven hours or more. Sleeping better may also help you fight off infection. People who don’t sleep well often have raised levels of stress hormones and a decrease in immune function.

 

In short, people who sleep well live longer.

 

Good sleep helps you lose weight

 

People who are sleep deprived have an increased appetite. Inadequate sleep also lowers levels of leptin, a hormone that suppresses appetite, and grehlin, a hormone that increases food intake and is thought to play a role in long-term regulation of body weight. Sleep deprivation lowers the levels of leptin and raises levels of grehlin. All this suggests that sleep deprivation can make weight loss extremely difficult because it causes your body to work against you!

 

Quality sleep isn’t a cure all and of course you have to combine it with healthy eating and regular exercise but quality sleep may have more to do with successful weight loss and weight management than any of us ever thought possible. So before you blame that diet programme for failing, look into your sleep habits and aim for a good night’s sleep.

 

Good sleep makes you smarter

 

Lack of sleep can have effects similar to those brought on by too much alcohol. Those with sleep deprivation suffer from reduced concentration, memory loss and are more likely to make mistakes and have a slower reaction time. The performance of someone who has been awake for 17 hours straight is about the same as if she had a blood alcohol level of 50mg/100ml of blood (two drinks in an hour)

 

And night owls beware! A recent study by Harvard Medical School found that people who slept after learning and practising a new task remembered more about it the following day than people who stayed up all night learning the same thing. Better sleep means better concentration and better decision-making.

 

It’ll make you a nicer person

 

The most potent effects of sleep deprivation are on behaviour. Lack of sleep will make you cranky, aggressive, forgetful and unsociable. Taken to extremes, severe sleep deprivation causes depression, disorientation and paranoia.

 

Simply put, there is just no substitute for the benefits of sleep. It makes you look and feel healthier, happier, sexier – even thinner! But there’s no need to overdo it. Doctors discovered that just like having that second slice of cake, oversleeping – and long lie ins at the weekends – may do more harm than good as they upset your biological clock giving you symptoms of jet lag without the holiday. So stick to the recommended 7 – 8 hours; get up at roughly the same time each day – even at weekends – and if you feel that you need to catch up on sleep go to bed earlier rather than sleeping in.

 

How to sleep well:

 

• Quantity and quality are very important: Most adults need between 7.5 to 8.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep.
• Keep regular hours. Try to go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time every day. Getting up at the same time is most important.
• Day light: Bright light in the morning at a regular time should help you feel sleepy at the same time every night.
• Stay away from stimulants like caffeine: Avoid all stimulants in the evening, including chocolate, caffeinated soft drinks and caffeinated teas and coffee.
• Avoid bright light around the house before bed: Using dimmer switches in living rooms and bathrooms before bed can be helpful.
• Exercise: Thirty minutes exercise during the day can help you sleep better but avoid exercise near bedtime.
• Bedtime routines are helpful for good sleep. Keep routines on your normal schedule. A cup of herbal tea, like camomile, an hour before bed can begin the routine.
• Keep your bedroom at a comfortable temperature: Not too warm and not too cold. Cooler is better than warmer.
• Keep the room restful: A quiet, dark, cool environment sends signals to your brain that it is time to wind down.
• Know that the night cap has a price: Alcohol may help you to get to sleep but it will cause you to wake up throughout the night.
• Invest in a good bed: If your bed or mattress is uncomfortable or more than ten years old it may need replacing.
• Snoring partners: If your partner snores encourage them to sleep in another position or experiment with nasal strips and other snoring remedies. If this doesn’t work consider wearing ear plugs or sleeping in a separate room.

For centuries people have used the ancient discipline of meditation to help bring calm and wisdom and in the past 30 years there has been an increase in people taking up meditation for its health benefits.

Numerous studies have found that people who medicate regularly see their doctors less and spend fewer days in hospital. One study by the Department of Complementary Medicine at the University of Exeter found that people with asthma that were taught to meditate showed distinct improvement after four months.

 

Increasingly meditation is also being used as an effective way to ease pain. In a study of 90 patients published in the Journal of Behaviour Medicine, 39 took drugs to ease pain. After meditation 17 of them saw a significant improvement in pain and were able to use fewer drugs.

 

Meditation may also have a part to play in the treatment of infertility. One study taught relaxation to one group of infertile couples and compared with a similar group of infertile couples who did not learn deep relaxation.  The couples who learned to relax experienced less distress and were more likely to get pregnant.

 

Psychologists who use meditation with their patients have found that it can help reduce tension, anxiety and stress-related problems such as insomnia and high blood pressure. Meditation helps people to distance themselves from the stress in their daily lives and helps them look at any conflict with better understanding.

 

Meditation can ease physical complaints such as premenstrual syndrome (PMS), tension headaches and other common health problems, including irritable bowel syndrome and high blood pressure. The other health benefits of meditation include more energy, improved memory, faster reaction and a happier outlook on life. This is because meditation gives people a psychological buffer so that life’s hectic pace doesn’t knock them out. Practicing meditation is like taking a vacation once or twice a day. When you nurture yourself, you gain tremendous spin-off benefits.

 

Getting started with meditation:

 

Getting started with meditation is not difficult but you will need patience and quiet time to practise. The true benefits build over time so you need to stick with it.

 

Choose a time in your day to dedicate to meditation; early in the morning or just before bed are ideal. Create a meditation space in the corner of your bedroom away from noise or disturbance. Burning a few drops of an essential oil can boost concentration – rose oil instils a sense of peace, while frankincense is good for heightening awareness.

 

To begin, sit upright on a cushion or on the floor or on a chair. Let your body relax, with your eyes closed or simply focus on the floor in front of you. Your body should feel alert and attentive. Consciously relax your body, releasing any tension and then take a few deep breaths. Start to become aware of your breathing. Don’t force it; just observe it as it flows in and out. Feel your abdomen fall and rise. Gradually you should find that your breathing automatically begins to slow. Continue to follow your breathing. If your attention starts to wander gently bring your thoughts back to your breath. Follow the rising and falling of your abdomen. Try and sit like this for at least five minutes. As you become more experienced you can build up to 20 minutes.

 

Don’t jump up straight afterwards. Bring yourself slowly back to normal consciousness. Start to become aware of the room around you. Feel your body on the chair or floor. Hear the noises around you.

 

If you find it really hard to clear your mind, try one of these strategies: slowly count from one to 10 in your head, keeping your attention on the number. If you feel your attention wondering, simply start again at number one. Or choose a special place like a garden or beach and imagine the scene and all the sights, smells and sounds in that place.  You can also use some relaxing music if that helps to stop your mind wandering.  Some people find it easier to focus on a candle. 

 

Studies on meditation have found that it can lower cholesterol and, reduce high blood pressure, reduce the stress hormone and ease emotional pain and anxiety. It can even slow down the ageing process – one study found that after five years of meditating regularly, the brains of the meditators were functioning as if they were 12 years younger.

City people who live near green spaces are less likely to be overweight according to a study by the Indiana University School of Medicine, USA. Scientists studied thousands of kids aged between 3 and 18 and found that those close to green spaces were less likely to be overweight, probably because they were more active.