Experts agree that sleep matters. If you don’t get enough you’re tired, health, well being and fertility affected. Insomnia can make you fat…

The Power of Sleep

Too little sleep and you feel awful. Then you worry about not getting it …and it’s another long night.  Bees do it, birds do it and great apes love it! In France it’s regarded as a public health issue by doctors. US health insurance company, AON Hewitt’s 2012 survey shows lack of sleep is ‘one of  8 human behaviours underpinning 15 expensive medical conditions’. Insomnia is one of the most common condition I treat and Hypnotherapy gets sleep back on track very quickly.

Over 30% of people have some degree of insomnia –  and ‘sleep deficit’ is increasing among the young. Serious issues include sleep apnoea (an episodic breathing cessation that reduces oxygen intake) while others stay awake with restless leg syndrome.

Why Sleep Matters

What have Chernobyl, 3 Mile Island, Bhopal and Exxon Valdez got in common? These disasters all happened between 2am- 6am. Investigators found tired operators and human error were causative factors.

Closer to home, lack of sleep is associated with Type II Diabetes in adults and children.

Karen Spiegel studies sleep the Centre of Neuroscience in Lyons: ‘Sleep loss  affects glucose metabolism, immune function and cardio-vascular function.’  

Ever notice how you crave carbs when you’re tired, or just find yourself picking at food you don’t need?Lack of sleep impacts how well your endocrine glands work. Body weight is maintained on a daily basis by the ‘appetite control’ hormones leptin and grehlin, and these regulate appetite and fullness. Grelin reduces energy consumption around the body, and causes calories to be stored as fat. Leptin is a key chemical messenger in regulating fat storage that leads to unwanted weight gain. Known as the ‘starvation hormone’ it tells your brain’s satiety centre when you’ve had enough to eat. Your appetite is switched off and you feel full. Hopefully. 

Fertility health needs total endocrine performance, and it’s during sleep overnight that hormones are made and get transported to where they need to be. This goes for women, and men equally.

Sleep is vital to physical health and wellness.

What Can You Do?

• Aim for 6-8 hours every night.
• Stick to a routine bedtime and banish screens from the bedroom.
• Avoid exercise (apart from sex), caffeine, alcohol and big meals, close to bedtime.
• Reading a book (not Kindle!) helps compose your mind and prepare for sleep.
• A quiet, dark room with enough ventilation ensures a full night’s zzeds.
• Refrain from screens for 90 minutes before bedtime, if you can!
• Blinds and blackout curtains prevent early wakening in east-facing bedrooms – or use a cute eye-mask.
• Cotton bed-linen,  perfect pillows and a good mattress make for blissful slumber.

>Keep your bedroom just for sex and sleeping so there’s absolutely nothing else to stay awake for.

>Snoring bedfellows – a major sleep disruptor for women – may flag up a treatable sleep apnea health danger for you, or your partner. Time to visit your doctor, and a sleep clinic may sort the problem.

>Sleep quality and quantity is a reliable gauge of general health and fertility fitness – and it ranks right up there with nutrition and exercise unimportance for both intending parents.

When You Can’t …

• If counting sheep doesn’t work for you, use ‘pink noise’ relaxation downloads.
• Rather than lying in bed fretting about not sleeping, get up, leave the room or read awhile.
• Resist the temptation of an afternoon nap after a bad night’s sleep.
• Exercise and get out in the fresh air each day. 
• Learn mindfulness skills.
• Progressive relaxation, focusing on each part of your body, from head to toe, releases tension.

Insomnia, or sleeping too much, may be signs of stress, anxiety and depression. The good news is that these are treatable so you feel better and can look forward to a great night’s sleep every night.

Not sleeping well? Call me and find out how I can help you sleep well again!