THE IMPORTANCE OF SLEEP
So what is sleep? And why is it important?
Well, defining sleep is a lot like trying to define life. No one completely
understands it, and if you try to explain it, you’re more likely to sound like
Forrest Gump than a world-renown scholar (Life is like a box of chocolates…
sleep is like pretending to be dead).
Sleep is actually defined as a natural periodic state of rest for the mind and body. The eyes usually close, and consciousness is completely or partially lost so
that there is a decrease in bodily movement and responsiveness to external stimuli.
That sounds a little weird, but the most important takeaway is that it’s
a natural periodic state of rest for the mind and body. If you’re not doing it, then you're completely unnatural. And, nobody likes unnatural people.
What’s more important is knowing the big prizes that sleep gives you. Generally,
being awake is catabolic (breaks you down), and sleep is anabolic (builds you up).
Sleep is an elevated anabolic state, heightening the growth and
rejuvenation of the immune, skeletal, and muscular systems. Basically, sleep
rebuilds you and keeps you youthful.
High quality sleep fortifies your immune system, balances your hormones,
boosts your metabolism, increases physical energy, and improves the function of
your brain. Without all of the essential benefits that sleep is providing, you will
never, I repeat, have the body and life you want without giving your body
the right amount of sleep.
In our culture, sleep is not respected very much at all. To say
sleep is not respected is really an understatement. As a matter of fact, we are
often programmed with the idea that to be successful, we need to work harder,
sleepless, and we can catch up on all the sleep we want when we’re dead.
Working hard is unarguably a big part of being successful, but so is working
smart. So many people in our world today go on plugging away with work,
burning the candle at both ends, not realizing that the quality of work they’re
doing is radically compromised. Research shows that after just 24 hours of
sleep deprivation, there is an overall reduction of six percent in glucose reaching
the brain. Simple translation: You get dumber.
This is also why you crave candy, chips, donuts, and other starchy, sugary things
when you’re sleep-deprived. Your body is trying to compel you to get that
glucose back to your brain as soon as possible. It’s a built-in survival mechanism.
This is inherent in our genes because, in our days as hunter-gatherers, that lack
of brainpower could mean a swift death from a predator or a substantially
reduced ability to hunt and procure your own survival food. Today a simple
trip to the refrigerator can bypass your body’s cry for more sleep, but those stress
mechanisms are still alive and well within your body right now.
The most valuable takeaway from this sleep deprivation “brain drain” discovery
is that the reduction in glucose isn’t shared equally. Your parietal lobe and the
prefrontal cortex actually lose 12 to 14 percent of their glucose when you don’t
sleep. These are the areas of the brain we most need for thinking,
distinguishing between ideas, social control, and telling the
difference between right and wrong. Have you ever made a poor decision when
you were up late at night that you wouldn’t have made if your head was on the right?
Chances are you have.
It wasn’t entirely your fault. Your brain was hijacked by a dumber (and slightly
less attractive) the version of yourself.
Always remember the value of your sleep. You will perform better, make better
decisions, and have a better body when you get the sleep you require. Sleep is not
an obstacle we need to go around; it’s a natural state your body requires to boost
your hormone function, heal your muscles, tissues, and organs, and make your
mind work at its optimal level. The shortcut to success is not made by bypassing
dreamland. You will factually work better, be more efficient, and get more stuff
done when you’re properly rested.
There’s a big difference between “working” and actually being effective. By
sacrificing your sleep, you can definitely do more work, but the quality and
effectiveness of your work will be sacrificed. A physician study published in The
Lancet proved that sleep-deprived individuals took 14 percent longer to complete
a task and made 20 percent more errors than well-rested individuals.
Structure your time to get more sleep first, and you’ll be able to get your work
done faster and more effectively than if you zombie walked your way through it.
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