Five Reasons to Go to Bed Earlier
With the hectic lifestyles that we’ve become used to, sleeping eight hours a day seems like an increasingly distant goal. However, specialists have warned us about the health risks associated with sleeping for a just a few hours per night. In the following article, we’ll talk about the reasons to go to bed earlier and how to respect our moments of rest and relaxation.
Why should we go to bed earlier?
There are many reasons to go to bed earlier and maintain good quality sleep. Our body needs this relaxing stage to maintain its physical and mental well-being. Here are the main benefits of enjoying eight hours of good quality sleep per night:
1. Antioxidant effects
Getting a good night’s sleep helps to combat the formation of free radicals and prevents cell damage. This is fundamental to prevent numerous degenerative diseases, including cancer, dementia and coronary problems.
With an adequate amount of sleep, aging symptoms are delayed, and our skin’s appearance and bone and muscle resistance are all improved.
2. Greater balance when fighting physical and psychological wear
Going to bed earlier will help your body to process any physical, cognitive and emotional wear better. Patients with sleeping disorders are more likely to develop symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress or anger.
For these reasons, good quality sleep helps to prevent many physical and psychological disorders. In addition, it’s essential to decrease the feeling of being constantly tired and to improve our energy levels and disposition. If you sleep well, it’ll be easier to regulate your metabolism and perform better at work, and at a personal level too.
3. Keeping a healthy weight
People who lack sleep are also more prone to obesity. Therefore, keeping a healthy weight is among the reasons to go to bed earlier and really value your sleeping time. Remember that excess weight is a risk factor for various issues, such as diabetes, hypertension and other cardiovascular problems.
4. Sleeping well improves your physical endurance
We expose ourselves to high levels of stress to fulfill our job responsibilities daily. We can’t neglect our personal life either. During the week, we usually stay awake until very late and then we often wake up early to start a new day.
All of this sounds like a simple daily routine, but it can pose a worrisome risk to our well-being. In someone who doesn’t rest properly, their body resembles a machine that runs rampant. Sooner or later, the logical consequence of not getting enough sleep or sleeping badly, is a collapse and it’s never beneficial.
Your body needs to recover to prepare for each new day and to be able to cope with tasks, challenges and new emotions. Sleep directly impacts our cell’s metabolism and our immune system’s response. Therefore, people who sleep well tend to have a greater resistance to pain, and they don’t get sick very often.
5, Sleeping well lowers the risk of Alzheimer’s
Recent studies have identified a higher concentration of Alzheimer factors in people who sleep less than five hours a day. The same pattern was observed in patients who maintained six to eight hours of sleep, but suffered from sleep disturbances.
Among the important factors that you must consider if you’re thinking about going to bed earlier, is the need to protect your brain and prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
Tips for going to bed earlier and getting better rest
Changing your habits and improving your quality of life usually depends on your own choices. If you want to enjoy better quality sleep, you require simple and every day attitudes to make it happen.
By following these guidelines and tips, it will be easier to improve your quality of sleep:
- Decrease your daily stress levels.
- Maintain a complete and balanced diet, which prioritizes natural and organic food consumption.
- Workout on a regular basis (preferably once a day, for 30 to 60 minutes).
- Respect your relaxation, rest and entertainment moments (nobody should live just to work).
- Establish healthy limits between your personal and work life.
- Get a hobby or choose an activity that promotes your physical and mental balance, such as yoga or Pilates.
Finally, we must emphasize the importance of going to see a doctor who is an expert in sleeping disorders. He’ll evaluate the need to establish a treatment based on natural products or drugs, to help you reduce stress and sleep better.