When it comes to fat loss, usually the main things that come to mind are diet and exercise, but these staple suggestions are sabotaged if a crucial part of the day is overlooked: Sleep. While some people still repeat the rather foolish phrase “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” along with some work culture advocates downplaying it, sleep is actually the biggest thing that can boost your overall health. It is also the main source of energy after food and every day for everyone begins with them waking from sleep.
The Three Phases of Sleep
It’s important to know the breakdown of what “sleep” consists of before going further into the article, as it is not just the quantity of sleep that is important but also the quality of the sleep as well.
Light Sleep: Breathing and heart rate drops, the brain emits lower brain waves as the body relaxes. Light sleep largely exists as the transition stage to deeper stages of sleep, but is an important part of physical and mental well-being.
Deep Sleep: After light sleep, the brain’s waves slow and hormonal regulation begins which is crucial for weight loss. Metabolism for glucose is also regulated and in event of insufficient deep and REM sleep, the body’s insulin sensitivity may drift more and more out of balance, making weight gain more problematic.
REM: Stands for Rapid Eye Movement, and this phase of sleep is where dreams happen. The eyeballs as the name suggests; begin to dart around rapidly and this phase is the most restorative for brain cognition. There is also some benefits of emotional regulation and stability that comes from REM.
What Destroys Sleep?
Now that we have a bit of context on what “sleep” actually is made of, it’s time to look at the main destroyers of it. When sleep quality is compromised it usually pertains to the reduction of deep and REM sleep. These are the two phases that are the most restorative, so a person who does have these compared to someone who does not will have very different quality of life.
Blue Light: The primary culprit in sleep disruption and something that is recent in becoming a problem. Blue light primarily comes from LED screens from computers and smartphones. Given how many hours the modern world now spends near one of these sources, the amount of blue light eyeballs now see has radically increased. The light itself is not bad per se, but normally blue light is used to signal the body to wake up whereas amber and red shades of light like from sunset are used to signal the body to get ready for sleep. Now however, blue light shines on eyes well past daylight as people view their devices well into the late hours of the night.
Circadian Mismatch: Anyone who has worked night shift or any kind of shift work can attest to this one. In ancient times, the pattern of waking and sleeping was determined by exposure to the sun. People would rise with the sunrise and set with the sunset. In modern times and in conditions like night shift or shift work, the actual sun exposure on skin can vary a lot. This causes a deficiency in vitamin D, and can cause depression from seasonal affective disorder.
Caffeine: While normally the go-to molecule for energy around the world, caffeine can be a common culprit of sleep disruption if consumed too late in the day. It’s important to get whatever caffeine you use consumed earlier in the day some hours before dinner or your evening meal. It is also worth noting that some foods like dark chocolate have caffeine in them along with some drinks like kombucha or sodas. Be aware of what your drinking and time the consumption. Compromising sleep is a problem that can compound into problems for the next day.
The Most Crucial Element of Health Success
Fixing your sleep is by far the most valuable thing that can be done to improve your overall health. It is taken extremely seriously by many top level athletes and it is without doubt something that must be done at some point every single day for the rest of everyone’s lives. Previously not much was needed to ensure a good night’s rest when our ancestors had less technology and ate more whole food diets, but new conveniences in life now necessitate knowledge of sleep hygiene to ensure quality of sleep is preserved. There are many more factors on what influences sleep hygiene but this is just an introductory post to something that some people literally spend tens of thousands of dollars in pursuit of it’s optimization (yes there really is some ultra specialty mattresses with that kind of price tag). Thankfully most people can just apply some simple fixes to their lives and arm themselves with a bit of knowledge and never need to spend such money. Just go to bed at the same time each night, cut out blue light, ideally not work a night shift, and don’t eat four hours before bed.
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Don’t give up, honor your gift
-Ed