Prolonged sleep deprivation can take a punishing toll on almost every part of our body -  Our heart, Stomach, Muscle Strength, Digestive System, Skin, Bones, Vision, Speech and Mind.  We do not understand the huge benefits of sleep and we risk obesity, heart disease, strokes, depression, decreased sex drive, along with non creativity and mood swings by turning a blind eye to sleep.

Sleep’s purpose goes far beyond ridding ourselves of feeling of tiredness: hormonal balance, enhanced learning ability, better heart functioning and cell repair, help with living longer and staying more active, and looking younger can all be the result of good sleep, and that is just scratching the surface

Even dreaming has a role in our daily lives, enabling us to play out different scenarios in our heads and in turn enhancing our emotional balance and lowering our stress levels.

For some of us every night is tossing and turning as we wait to drift off.  We begin to dread bedtimes because bedtimes meant hours of anxiety because we just can’t fall asleep.  We are so tired by morning we lack the strength to carry out our usual chores effectively.

Whilst some of us can happily make do with six hours sleep others find it difficult to carry on their day to day activities without the full controversial eight hours sleep.

According to controversial wisdom we are meant to spend a third of our lives asleep but for those of us who struggle to get a decent nights rest, it does not feel like it.    Half of adults have symptoms of insomnia at any given time and causes are various – from hormonal to event related stress and anxiety.

Here are some effects of poor sleep on our bodies

Heart– Without a refreshing sleep the body goes into panic mode, boosting the production of stress hormones which in turn increases our blood pressure – one of the big risk factors for heart attacks and strokes.  And if you are constantly tired because of poor sleep, you wont feel much like cooking and eating healthily or exercising – your overall immune system will be weakened and you will be more vulnerable to infections.

• Stomach– Have you ever noticed your stomach rumbling more when you are sleeping badly?  This is because your body is awake longer and needs more fuel, and sleeplessness produces more gherlin - an appetite stimulator, and less leptin – an appetite depressant.  This is why insomnia or poor sleep linked to obesity.


• Vision– Your vision may be blurred because your eyes have not rested enough.  They will turn red because the blood vessels near the eye become dilated creating the bloodshot look.  Dark circles appear because the lack of sleep causes the blood vessels to become more visible through the skin.


• Mind– Mild sleep depravation can lead to disorientation, confusion, moodiness and slight anxiety – just 90 minutes of sleep loss can result in 32% drop in daytime alertness.


• Speech– During some phases of sleep the neurons in the cerebral cortex regenerate.  If sleep is interrupted, this regeneration cannot occur and your speech becomes slurred.


• Skin –Sleep helps get rid of the body’s toxins, so a build up of late nights and poor sleep will lead to spots.  You will also become dehydrated after a few nights of bad sleep resulting in scaly skin.


• Bones– Growth hormone is released during sleep, so if children, teenagers or young adults who are still growing are sleep deprived they might be slightly stunted says Doctor McGrath.  Studies in war zones have found that children are smaller because they are kept awake at night.


• Muscle Strength– Lack of sleep can result in general muscle ache and joint pain.  On study on Sport and strength from the University of Chicago Medical School found that after only one week of sleep restriction young healthy males suffered a rapid deterioration of bodily functions

Now let’s look at what we can do to re-balance our sleep patterns and have a deep sleep to promote good health.

• Change your beliefs about sleep – “I can’t get to sleep” becomes a fulfilling prophecy.


• Change your sleep habits


• Train your brain to fall asleep with the Sleep and to calm your anxiety with the Sleep Optimisation Tracks (the most fast working and effective sleep tool I have come across so far in my search) ?offer=AFFILIATEID&pid=arb" ?offer=persevere1&pid=arb .


• Have an evening routine that makes a transition from daytime to night time.   You need to let your brain activity subside during night time by making it a habit to unwind with things like meditation, relaxation etc.


• Take it easy and avoid strenuous activity less than 3 hours prior to bedtime.


• Avoid confrontation or task that taxes your brain, fill it with chitter chatter or causes you anxiety.


• Bore yourself to sleep by doing mundane tasks like paper work or reading a text book


• Take a warm dissolving and relaxing bath.   Your body temperature will rise at first but it will ease drastically helping to send you to sleep.


• Take your bedroom cosy and harmonic (the cosier the better) and make it a room just for sleeping and making love.


• Avoid things that tell your brain to engage in activities


• Make sure you have silence external noises can disrupt your sleep


• Make your room as dark as possible in the evening (use dimmer switches if possible).   Sleep mask is also an excellent idea for blocking out light.


• Cool sleeping room - your room temperature should be 65-70% F


• Use “Fall Asleep Track” ?offer=AFFILIATEID&pid=1" ?offer=persevere1&pid=1


• Wake up at about the same time every day (your sleep clock needs a fine tune cue)

Please drop me an email if you need further help solving your sleep, stress and anxiety problems.

Wishing you a wonderful new experience trying out your new found knowledge on sleep.

A Boadu mailto:sleepandstressnurse@googlemail.com" sleepandstressnurse@googlemail.com