Sleep is What You Need!

Recently, I listened to a motivational speaker who boastfully declared that he slept for only four to five hours every day. He didn’t stop at that, he suggested that we all should cut down our hours of sleep to match his. He eloquently ‘calculated’ that if we sleep for the recommended seven to eight hours every night, by the time we are seventy years old, we would have slept for ‘about 18 years’- ‘imagine what you could do with the extra 18 years, he asked’ The crowd roared and the man exited the stage. That message was so inspirational, I could feel the energy in the room, but boy, the man is so wrong!

Margaret Thatcher was said to have slept for only four hours every day. She was quoted as saying that ‘sleep is for sissies’. Not too long ago some scientists claimed to have identified a gene variant, the ‘thatcher gene’ that allow some people to function normally on less sleep than the rest of us.

Even with the ‘Thatcher gene’ Margaret Thatcher was said to have suffered from multiple stroke attacks in her old age. So bad that her face was skewed terribly and perhaps a reason why there was no open casket procession for her when she died.

When you sleep, your brain cells get to rest. They also ‘excrete’ waste and form new pathways. In the younger ones, the brain releases the growth hormone that helps with proper growth.

When you don’t get enough sleep, your brain cells don’t get to detoxify and whilst you may push on now, the chickens will one day come home to roost and you may suffer from multiple strokes in your old age.

Getting enough sleep is also important for your health now.

Not getting enough sleep will impact on your ability to recollect information. You are also going to get angry more easily and sometimes for no reason.

Lack of sleep can bring on headaches and you are going to be more likely to get a cold or flu because of your depressed immune response thanks to your lack of sleep.

More seriously is the concept of ‘microsleep’ a phenomenon where your body sleeps for a minute or so without you being aware that you slept. This has been identified as a cause of many accidents and deaths.

On the long term, people who don’t get enough sleep tend to be more obese than those who sleep well. You are also going to be more likely to develop diabetes, heart disease or stroke than someone who sleeps well. Ultimately, lack of regular healthy sleep will lead to a reduced life expectancy.

So, get between seven to nine hours of sleep daily. Remember it is not about how many hours you spend awake, it is how many productive hours you get daily and a good night sleep can guarantee you that!