The Importance of Sleep

How much do you value your sleep? Dr Paul lists it as one of the key pillars of health alongside nutrition, exercise, stress management and nervous system health. Most people we talk to at Bergamo Chiropractic and Nutrition will state that they understand that sleep is important. A report on the online sleep survey from the Sleep Health Foundation in 2015 which asked questions of over 1000 people revealed that on average people are only sleeping for 7 hours per night.

This might seem like a good amount of sleep to some, however Dr Matthew Walker (author of Why We Sleep) recommends that 8 hours as a minimum. Keep in mind that where the average sits at 7 hours. This means that many people are getting far less than that.

Now let us start with some sleep research statistics with regard to physical performance: 

• With 6 or fewer hours of sleep, you reach physical exhaustion 30% faster.  
• Lactic acid builds up faster and your ability to expel carbon dioxide and inhale oxygen decreases with less sleep. 
• There is a direct correlation between lack of sleep and a decrease in muscular strength peak, vertical jump height and peak running speed.
• Men who sleep for 5-6 hours a night display equivalent testosterone levels to a man 6-10 older than their current age.
• You are 60% more likely to injure yourselfwith 5 hours of sleep vs. 9 hours of sleep; this is because your stability muscles fail earlier when sleep deprived.

Let that sink in whilst we quote Dr Walker, who stated that:

“Sleep is the greatest legal performing enhancing drug that most people are probably neglecting”.

Here at Bergamo Chiropractic, we are 100% focused on helping you reach your health and fitness goals. That may be to get more active, to loss some weight, to get stronger and perform better, or to just be a more healthy person. We can’t do any of these things if we continue to neglect the importance of a good night sleep. So to help your sleep, here are a few evidence based tips to get you started:

1.Stick to a sleep schedule:by aiming to go to sleep and wake up at similar times every day, we regulate our Circadian rhythms to achieve more consistent sleep.

2.Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol before bed:Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants, thus promote wakefulness. And although alcohol is a nervous system depressant, it will reduce the amount of REM sleep you achieve, decreasing sleep quality.

3.Decrease screen time before bed: sitting in front of an iPhone for 1 hour delays the onset of melatonin production by 3 hours Melatonin is the key hormone responsible for sleep-wake cycle regulation. Instead, an hour before bedtime, jump into bed and read a book.

We hope this gets you started on your journey to more regular and better quality sleep. Should you require more information, speak to your health practitioner at Bergamo Chiropractic and Nutrition Centre.