It’s not hard to get caught up in that small bit of work we bring home from the office, or get hooked on binge watching that series we love so much, deep into the night.
We have prioritized a lot of other things over our sleep and perhaps we have not known the repercussions; it doesn’t mean they aren’t lurking around, waiting to catch up with us. Perhaps it would be easier if you weigh the options of protecting your health or watching GOT season 8. And it’s not just about the consequences of not sleeping early, there are a lot of things our bodies stand to gain if we sleep early. Here are a few of the benefits of sleeping early.
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BETTER SLEEP QUALITY
Sleeping early has been proven to improve the quality of sleep by far. You might think, yes, I make up for the lost sleep by sleeping in the day. As logical as that might sound, it doesn’t really work that way. You might sleep for all the hours you’re supposed to and not get the benefits of that sleep because you are simply doing it at the wrong time. In the night your body cycles between the two kinds of sleep; the REM (Rapid Eye movement) and non REM. Although both have their benefits, if you sleep late you’ll be getting more of the REM sleep and miss out on all the benefits of the Non REM.
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MEMORY IMPROVEMENT
The importance of an alert mind cannot be over emphasized, an alert mind is essential for keeping and recalling information long term. When we deprive ourselves of sleep our attention span becomes shortened and it gradually becomes a lot harder to focus, keep and recall information.
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BOOSTS MOOD
You might be wondering how sleeping early helps you feel happier, here is it – when you sleep early you wake up early and can cash in on all the sunlight for that day. Exposure to sunlight helps your brain produce more of serotonin. Serotonin is a hormone in the body that boosts happiness and makes you feel calm. So yes, maybe you don’t “just wakeup grumpy”, maybe you need to start sleeping early.
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EFFECTIVE METABOLISM
Your body does its best metabolic work while you are sleeping. Sleeping early would give your body enough time to do this work. Depriving your self of sleep disturbs that metabolic activity with can lead to blood sugar levels irregularities and even high blood pressure. Your body is also able to produce enough energy for the day. You don’t expect your body to produce energy while you are consuming energy by staying awake do you?.
An adjustment in sleeping time can make all the difference in your health. If you are a late sleeper you can start by moving your bed time up 30minutes gradually until you can adjust to a reasonable sleeping time.
