Sleep

Getting enough sleep is essential for good health. The impact of lifestyle behaviours on sleep must be appreciated.

It is recommended that adults get 7-9 hours of sleep per night. However, many people do not get enough sleep. Sleep is important for healing, learning, memory, mood, and motivation.

Insufficient or poor-quality sleep is associated with the development of many diseases and illnesses.

Sleep deprivation causes us to become more attuned to negativity. It can also make it harder to make healthy choices like eating well and exercising.

Sleep disorders negatively impact both short-term and long-term health. Long-term effects of poor sleep include premature death, cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, cognitive impairment, and emotional disorders such as anxiety and depression. Eating patterns and food choices also influence quality of sleep. Eating close to bedtime will interfere with the early part of the sleep cycle disrupting restorative deep sleep. It's important to consider common causes of poor sleep, factors such as circadian rhythm disorders, eating and drinking habits and poor sleep hygiene when trying to improve sleep, before considering taking sleep aids. 

Exercisers compared with non-exercisers are more likely to report restorative sleep.