When I was young, I was always asked to have a nap in the afternoon, especially on weekends. Does this sound like your childhood too?? Being able to sleep late at night has always been made to look so cool that’s why it’s always every child’s nightmare to hear about the word, “bedtime”. And lastly when we are feeling old enough but still a bit young, a curfew, so you get forced to stay awake within the four corners of your room with nerves within you that still want to party outside. We’re so eager to become an adult already, ain’t we?!
And then comes adulthood, where everyone who expects it to be so cool is faced with a ton of disappointment and left overwhelmed. What we have been fighting all those years of not being asked to sleep has been one of our wish list nowadays. How ironic!
Sleep is one of the most important part of our wellbeing, hence, should be included on the top 5 of your list of Self-Care. Here are the reasons why:
Brain Function: Sleep is very important for our brain to function. The more we lack sleep, the more our minds become cloudy and chaotic inside, not being able to make right decisions. Our brain would be slow in understanding things which could affect our way of living.
Immune system: When your body is able to get the rest it needs, your immune system is kept at its best and able to fight against various bacteria, viruses, and diseases. By avoiding sleep deprivation, you also avoid putting yourself at risk of common diseases such as heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Regulate appetite: Having the means to buy food or a partner to eat with always isn’t the only reason why most people gain weight. There’s much more to it suck as poor sleeping habits. When you’re deprived from sleep, your body’s ability to regulate your appetite is affected as well. This may be the first time you hear about this, and if so, it’s my pleasure to be the person you’ve heard it first, “If you want to lose weight, make sure you have enough sleep. By simply keeping track of your sleep, you can be assured to keep your weight or lose weight without doing any other thing at all.”
Emotions in control: It’s never a good feeling to feel irritated at all times. Not only are you not able to function the way you want to but even affect the people around you as well. You tend to be short tempered, and if you’re a mom, it is guaranteed that your children would feel that heat from their hot headed mom. Try to avoid this by making time to sleep. There’s always tomorrow to continue with your long to-do list.
I’ve ended my 2nd paragraph with the phrase, “How ironic!” And the more this blog post comes to an end, the more I come to think about this couple of questions and mind-blowing common answers.
No eating – We panic, complain, felt like going to die which resorts to us doing all sorts of things just to make sure we’ll somehow have something to eat.
No sleeping – Felt cool and even brag to others how little sleep you had.
Why is this ironic? Because of our lack of knowledge on how important sleep is and not being able to prioritise to have which our body need more. Fun Fact: Our body can last 8-21 days without eating, or at most, 2 months guaranteed you have water to drink. Contrary to that, our body could only last 264 hours or 11 consecutive days before our body shuts off due to lack of sleep. One of the movies I’ve watched during Pandemic times that is surely related to this topic is the Netflix movie, AWAKE. I hope you find time to watch this and be an awakening to this bad sleeping habit.
So the next time you think you’ll not have enough time to sleep, how about try to have a nap. There’s a lot more on the benefits you can get from Napping.
I hope this article help lit that spark within you into living a healthier lifestyle. Read from here some Easy to start habits for a better Lifestyle.
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