Sleep

Sleep is a vital part of wellbeing, and its benefits are often underrated. Sleep provides a time where your body and brain can recharge and prepare itself for the next day. Ensuring you spend an adequate amount of time asleep and that the sleep you are getting is of a good quality, is crucial to long term physical and mental health.

There is a plethora of research to demonstrate that sleep directly impacts wellbeing and these benefits include:

  • Supporting the immune system (1)

  • Improving learning and memory consolidation (2)

  • Allowing time for the brain to clear away toxins (3) which helps to slow cognitive decline and reduce the risk of developing Alzheimers (4)

  • Supporting recovery and adaptation from exercise by promoting muscle tissue restoration (5)

  • Increasing the capacity to manage daily tasks and cope with stressful situations (4,6)

  • Prevention of adverse metabolic changes which can increase the risk of developing obesity and diabetes (7)

  • Optimising eating habits through controlled hormone release (8)

  • Promoting positivity and happiness (9)

Despite all this, we know that getting a good nights sleep is easier said than done as there are many factors that can influence an individuals ability to sleep. These include room temperature, noise, eating late, caffeine consumption and late-night exposure to blue light from screens. However, the most significant cause of sleep deprivation is feeling stressed and anxious, and unlike the factors listed above, these are harder to modify. At Camphora Wellbeing, we offer a range of services that can help reduce stress and anxiety through relaxation, so you are primed for a good night’s sleep.

Sleep provides a time where your body and brain can recharge and prepare for the next day

References:

  1. Zager A, Andersen ML, Ruiz FS, Antunes IB, & Tufik S (2007) Effects of acute and chronic sleep loss on immune modulation of rats [Electronic version]. Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology 293 R504-R509.

  2. Colicos, M.A.; Collins, B.E.; Sailor, M.J.; Goda, Y. Remodeling of synaptic actin induced by photoconductive stimulation. Cell 2001, 107, 605–616.

  3. Xie, L., Kang, H., Xu, Q., Chen, M. J., Liao, Y., Thiyagarajan, M., ... & Nedergaard, M. (2013). Sleep drives metabolite clearance from the adult brain. science, 342(6156), 373-377.

  4. Haack, M.; Mullington, J.M. Sustained sleep restriction reduces emotional and physical well-being. Pain 2005, 119, 56–64.

  5. Kern, W.; Dodt, C.; Born, J.; Fehm, H.L. Changes in cortisol and growth hormone secretion during nocturnal sleep in the course of aging. J. Gerontol. Ser. A Biol. Sci. Med Sci. 1996, 51, M3–M9.

  6. Goel, N.; Rao, H.; Durmer, J.S.; Dinges, D.F. Neurocognitive consequences of sleep deprivation. In Seminars in Neurology; Thieme Medical Publishers: New York, NY, USA, 2009; pp. 320–339.

  7. Buxton, O. M., Cain, S. W., O’Connor, S. P., Porter, J. H., Duffy, J. F., Wang, W., ... & Shea, S. A. (2012). Adverse metabolic consequences in humans of prolonged sleep restriction combined with circadian disruption. Science translational medicine, 4(129), 129ra43-129ra43.

  8. Van Cauter, E.; Knutson, K.L. Sleep and the epidemic of obesity in children and adults. Eur. J. Endocrinol. 2008, 159, S59–S66.

  9. Zhao, S.Z.; Wang, M.P.; Viswanath, K.; Lai, A.; Fong, D.Y.T.; Lin, C.-C.; Chan, S.S.-C.; Lam, T.H. Short Sleep Duration and Insomnia Symptoms were Associated with Lower Happiness Levels in Chinese Adults in Hong Kong. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 2079.