This has been one of my favorite quotes since high school. It's almost true. Perhaps bad days aren't fixed but they're certainly improved with a nap. Sleeping has wonderful restorative powers!
And what about that 2:30 feeling? Do you get it? I do. The beloved “after lunch slump,” the friendly reminder from your body that you didn’t get enough sleep. To me it presents itself as irritability, inability to focus, daydreams about my big comfy bed, disillusionment about exercise, and a strong yearning to leave my office, NOW. Eventually that feeling passes and I’ll revive to a somewhat normal state. I’ve always wondered how important sleep is. It’s funny because when I was a little kid I would cry when it was “naptime.” When I was an adolescent I would yell at my mom for not letting me get a little more sleep.
Sleep. It’s fundamental. Not getting enough sleep can lead to stress. Stress can lead to weight gain. Weight gain can lead to…well, I think we know what weight gain can lead to.
More and more people are starting to realize the importance of sleep. Evidently, as this (article) in the NYT indicates NBA stars swear by their naps. In fact, “players who got nine hours of sleep were more likely to react quicker, remember plays better and generally maintain their healthy more consistently.”
In 2006 a Harvard Health Publication indicated the top 6 reasons to not lose sleep, those being:
- Learning and memory
- Metabolism and weight
- Safety
- Mood
- Cardiovascular health
- Disease
So since (as this study indicated) sleep is linked to hormones that affect our appetite, our ability to process and store carbohydrate, lack of sleep might cause weight gain. With the lack of sleeps links to hypertension, irregular heartbeat, and altered immune functionality I think getting enough sleep regularly should be added to my mission of having a healthier lifestyle.
And as Arianna Huffington said, “my big idea is a very very small idea that can unlock billions of big ideas that are at the moment dormant inside us, and my little idea that we do [is] that [is we] sleep.” And of course while I don’t agree with everything Arianna Huffington does or says, she is a wise woman with much experience so if she claims the way to reach the top is to sleep, maybe I should listen. “I’m here to tell you that the way to a more productive, more inspired, more joyful life is getting enough sleep!” Who wouldn't want that? (video. Arianna: How To Succeed- Get More Sleep)
As for me... I didn't work out today, again :( -- I still have asthma so I'm undecided what I should do (and I lost my gym card). I didn't get enough sleep (about 6.5 hrs). But, I'm still eating pretty nutritiously. I had a delicious omelet for breakfast (coffee, water, superfoods smoothie, and flax toast), leftover rice dish (from the below post) and celery for lunch, and I think I will make a delicious raw and organic salad for dinner. OH! AND I GOT ASTRAGALUS today (I had to go to the natural health foods store to find it)! The supplement I mentioned in the vitamin post. Let's see if it works!
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