Top 3 Health Benefits of Restorative Sleep

You can survive up to 2 months without food but last only 11 days without sleep before your body completely shuts down. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, sleep stays at the foundation of all human requirements much like food, breathing, and water. It’s a vital physiological function that dictates the health of the whole organism. Acting like a rebooting mechanism, it resets the body and allows for all healing processes to take place. Enjoying a good night’s slumber shouldn’t be a luxury, but a necessity. As such, let’s see how putting your life on pause for 8 hours brings nothing but positives. Which are some of the top health benefits of restorative sleep?

 Weight Loss 

One of the most cost-effective ways for maintaining a healthy weight is by getting your 8 hours of sleep. By giving your body the restorative sleep it needs, you ensure that your hormonal system is in check and all self-regulating mechanisms function properly.

Appetite Control

Sleep affects the neurotransmitters related to appetite. These small chemical messengers are what dictate your feeling of satiation and hunger. The two neurotransmitters that control your desire to consume food are ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin tells you you are hungry while leptin makes you feel full. Sleep deprivation will disrupt the body’s natural regulation of the neurotransmitters and give ghrelin the upper hand. This will result in a bigger appetite and an increase in calorie consumption.

Food Preference

Moreover, sleep deprivation affects food preferences. According to a study conducted by the University of California, people who experience loss of sleep have a higher desire to eat calorie-rich foods which often leads to weight gain. Once the natural processes in the organism are disrupted, your body will have to adapt a preservation strategy that is far from optimal for your health.

Lifestyle Influence

In addition, less sleep means more free time to tempt yourself with food. The increased appetite and wake time will create a snowballing effect of weight gain. Combined with the loss of energy related to lack of restorative sleep, you will have even less of a desire to engage in physical activity. The sedentary lifestyle will exacerbate the issue of calorie expenditure and further accelerate the stacking of pounds. Sleep acts as a mediator that balances out your energy levels and increases motivation.

Better Skin

By far the number one benefactor for your skin is deep restorative sleep. No supplement or cosmetic procedure can replicate sleep’s health benefits on the skin. It’s the ultimate physiological function that rejuvenates and replenishes. A silent fountain of youth.

A Complexion that Glows

During sleep, the blood flow to your skin is increased and a greater supply of nutrients is fed to it. This nourishes the skin, resulting in a healthy glowing complexion. Moreover, the increase in blood flow will strengthen your skin barrier and make you more resilient to environmental stressors such as the sun, wind, and pollution. Lack of sleep may lead to a loss of vibrancy and make your face look dull and ashen. The fastest way to achieve youthful rosy cheeks is with proper restorative sleep.

Fewer Wrinkles

Cell turnover and collagen production are highest during sleep. It’s the time when the body repairs and replenishes. Wrinkle formation is put at bay and the skin rests and rejuvenates, effectively looking far plumper and fresher. Cutting your sleep to just 5 hours a night is shown to double the wrinkles on your face. No cosmetic cream will be able to keep up with the accelerating aging caused by lack of sleep.

Youthful Appearance

The most popular sign that we attribute to general exhaustion and sleep deprivation is tired eyes or dark circles. They can appear puffy, droopy, or all-around red due to dilated blood vessels, overstrain, and thinner duller skin. The elasticity of our skin and the nourishment of our facial muscles are what determine the appearance of the face.  Once the lack of sleep damages the skin, the whole face begins to lose its youthful look and glow. The eyes lose support and develop a tired look while the blood vessels appear more prominent and form dark circles. The corners of the mouth droop and the overall expression changes. 

The outer layer of the body is a mirror of what is happening inside. Sleep deprivation disrupts all physiological functions and in return, that shows in your eyes and face. This is why a minimum of 8 hours of restorative sleep is non-negotiable. Without it, the body starts to deteriorate.  

Improved Mental Health

If you want to turn a kind and caring person into an aggravated and cranky fool, just reduce their sleep to half. Your mood correlates to how much rest your body had last night. Apart from making you grumpy, sleep deprivation causes stress and personality changes. 

Elevated Mood

If you ever feel irritated or depressed while having no visible external stressors, it’s a good idea to try and remember how much sleep you had the past week.  As we already said, restorative sleep is nature’s repair kit that reboots us back to our healthy baseline. Sleeping less than 7 or more than 9 hours inevitably leads to negative mood changes. Your body didn’t rest, and as a result, your whole organism is “aggravated.” A person’s mental state is commonly a reflection of their physical health. 

Reduces Stress and Anxiety

The quality and quantity of your sleep regulate your hormonal system. One of the most common signs of poor sleep is having your stress hormone elevated. Cortisol is an essential hormone that regulates blood pressure and energy levels, balances blood sugar levels, and controls the sleep-wake cycle. Too much cortisol, however, will disrupt all these processes and cause a long list of health problems such as diabetes, fatigue, or weight gain. Depression and anxiety might creep in as the body’s digestion and energy levels get compromised. Without sleep, the whole organism succumbs to slow degeneration, followed by negative changes in your personality and behavior. Developing a strategy for optimizing sleep quality is vital to your well-being. Sleep is nature’s ultimate antidepressant.

Wool and Restorative Sleep

Good bedtime rituals, diet, and exercise are crucial precursors for achieving rest. However, deep restorative sleep requires a proper environment which often relates to what type of bedding and mattress you have. Wool has numerous beneficial properties to help you pursue better and deeper sleep. It’s a pure and natural material providing a healthy, comfortable, and clean environment. 

Adjustable Wool Pillow InsertWool MattressMerino Wool Blanket

Exceptionally Supportive

Wool mattresses promote a healthy posture during sleep through the unique way the springy wool fibers support the bodyweight – distributing weight evenly and away from pressure points, relieving pain in joints, and soothing aching muscles, better than any other natural or synthetic material. It will give you a comfortable foundation to rest on, without compromising the health of your joints and back.

Hypoallergenic

Dust mites are the major cause of allergy and asthma suffering. Wool is resistant to dust mites and wool bedding makes a wonderful alternative to feathers and synthetics. It’s suitable for people with MCS and other chemical sensitivities. Common side effects of dust mite allergies are runny nose, itchy throat, or coughing – all of which lead to poor sleep and have a negative snowballing effect on your health. Once sleep deprivation kicks in, you can expect your immune system to weaken and your allergies to worsen.

Extremely Breathable аnd Temperature Regulative

Due to the unique structure of its fibers, wool is exceptionally breathable, providing unparalleled comfort. Wool keeps you cool in the summer and warm in the winter, maintaining a year-round baseline of healthy restorative sleep. Having full control over your body temperature will prevent night sweating and general sleep disruption. 

Isolates Motion Transfer

Wool mattresses are perfect for couples and light sleepers. Motion is not transferred from one part of the mattress to another, so when your partner moves, you don’t feel it on your side. Liming all forms of motion transfer will lead to superior sleep quality and better health. Waking up at night is detrimental to the repairing effect of rest as this disrupts the sleep cycle, and you cannot reap the benefits of deep sleep. 

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