5 Reasons We Need Sleep

Sleep... why do we need it? What happens when we don't get enough? Why do we feel exhausted, get sick and feel anxious after a night of poor sleep? Wonder no more - here are the answers to your questions, and more.

1. Physical health: 70% of human growth hormone is produced in slow wave sleep, the primary catalyst for cellular repair, recovery and collagen production

2. Immunity: we are 4 times more likely to catch a cold when sleeping 6 hours rather then 7, and natural killer cell activity, key immune agents to hunt and destroy bacteria, declines by 30% after insufficient sleep

3 + 4: Mental health: stress hormone cortisol increases by 37% after 1 night of insufficient sleep; and we have a 60% increase in the reactivity of our amygdala, the brain region to detect threat. Collectively, this leaves us anxious, wired and unable to switch off.

5: Cognitive health: neurotoxin beta amyloid increases by 30% after 1 night of insufficient sleep - leaving us with brain fog, memory loss and long term, can contribute to alzheimers.

This information is also shared in this video here: https://bit.ly/5reasonsweneedsleep

Here's to sleeping better, feeling better and living better.... starting tonight!! Feel free to ask any questions, either in the comments or via dm - so happy to help.

#sleep #sleephealth #sleeptips

This article is another instalment of Sleep for Success - a LinkedIn series empowering you to your best nights sleep. With sleep imperative for optimal wellbeing and peak performance alike; it's a pleasure to leverage my 14 years of academic and professional experience to share expert tips, tricks and techniques to help you sleep longer, deeper and wake more refreshed. Supercharged by sleep, look forward to achieving more, in less time, with less effort. Please share with anyone you feel will benefit, and of course, sleep well - Olivia.