Better Sleep Health Benefits: Optimize Your Health

Better sleep health benefits include improving your mood and managing stress. Insufficient sleep can hold you back.

Have you ever found yourself saying, “I’m not a morning person” or “don’t talk to me until I’ve had my coffee”? Perhaps instead of being morning deficient, you’re experiencing some of the side effects of not getting enough sleep.

We all know what it’s like to feel groggy and cranky after you stay up all night tossing and turning. But what are the real downsides to not getting enough shut-eye?

Better Sleep Health Benefits

Shortage of sleep on a daily basis can open the door to worse things than bags under your eyes. Sleep deprivation and deficiency can lead to chronic poor decision making, weight gain due to chemical imbalance, and difficulty completing tasks and meeting deadlines. It can also increase the likelihood that you’ll become ill or depressed.

Restorative sleep is one of three key factors in achieving and maintaining optimal health. (The other two factors are regular exercise and a balanced, nutritious diet.) If you’re struggling to improve your mood, manage stress, or reach a healthy weight, insufficient sleep could be the limiting factor keeping you from making the changes you need to live a healthy and full life.

Sleep Tips

The better sleep health benefits are clear, but getting enough sleep is often easier said than done. Here are some tips that can help:

1. Prioritize sleep the way you prioritize your family, work, exercise, and other things that are important to you.
2. Set a schedule and stick to it. If you function best with 7-8 hours of rest and you know you need to get up at 6 am, make sure you’re in bed by 10 pm.
3. Create an environment for a good night’s sleep. Build a relaxing routine for yourself like taking a calming bath or meditating 15 minutes before bed. Cut out the substances that keep you awake at night like caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol in favor of something soothing like herbal tea. Turn off the TV and put away your phone before you get in bed.
4. Add Polygala tenuifolia extract to your diet. Polygala is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It’s thought that the root can empower the sleep process by discharging repressed emotions and relaxing the body. It’s often recommended for geriatric concerns because of its ability to improve memory and protect against cognitive ailments. Learn more about Polygala here.

Prioritize Sleep and Improve Your Health

Once you find a sleep routine that works for you, your mood will improve. You’ll also have more energy throughout the day to perform your daily tasks and to exercise, your ability to concentrate will increase, and your metabolism will support healthy weight loss. In addition to these benefits, the safeguards that sleep discipline afford are indispensable. It’s one of the best ways to foster heart health and preserve a strong and efficient immune system.