by Henry Gould – Dec 17th, 2019

We all know that anxious feeling of going to bed for an early wake-up, and immediately calculating how much sleep you’ll get if you can just fall asleep right now.

Or there’s the dreaded “It’s-1:45am-and-I’m-still-at-the-bar-doing-shots-but-I-have-to-be-up-for-an-8:00am-meeting” kind of sleep calculations which we won’t even get into.

Sleep is a fascinating subject. From an evolutionary perspective, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense why we sleep. In theory, we’d be way more productive if we didn’t sleep, not to mention we expose ourselves to risk every time we close our eyes and doze off. Lots of people try to wear their lack of sleep as a badge of honor (“I only need 3 hours a night”) but they’re either lying to you, or lying to themselves.

Sleep is very, very important.

From this blog back in April, we talked about just how important it is to a healthy immune system (LINK). However, this recent studied published in Nature: Human Behaviour talks about the link between lack of sleep and anxiety. Unsurprisingly, the less sleep we get, the more anxious we become!

Obviously this can be tough, especially if one suffers from insomnia, as they will then feel anxious about not getting enough sleep, thus starting a feedback loop. I can’t sleep because I’m anxious, I’m anxious because I can’t sleep.

Many external factors can contribute to a bad sleep:

• Light
• Noise
• Temperature
• Pillow, Mattress, Bedding
• Injury, Pain
• Alcohol, Drugs, Medication
• Dehydration, Overhydration
• Diet

Take all these factors into account if you’ve been having trouble sleeping. Things like dimming lights an hour before bed, reducing screen time, wearing earplugs, adjusting the heat in your house, getting a good mattress, avoiding alcohol, these can all make a major difference.

Another often overlooked factor is stretching. When muscles are sore and tight, they can contribute to a bad sleep by causing restless tossing and turning, or just general soreness. Exercise is one of the best ways to stay healthy and thus get a better sleep, but remember to focus on stretching just as much.

From back in the early blogs days –> “Looking For A Better Sleep? Stretch Before Bed”