The weekend is over again, and with the beautiful weather we’ve had these past few days, chances are many of us stayed up way too late. A party here. A drink there. Maybe even a little festival thrown in… It’s no wonder we’re often so exhausted on Mondays! But what if we told you that getting a good night’s sleep is actually so important for our physical health and emotional well-being? In this article, we’ll explain why Dutch-Smart’s sleep and dream herbs can help you transform your life for the better.
Not enough sleep makes you gain weight
To get right to the point: not getting enough sleep is strongly linked to weight gain. And that’s exactly what we don’t need in the summer. Research shows that people who don’t get enough sleep are often heavier (and therefore less healthy) than those who do get enough sleep. In one extensive study, adults who didn’t get the necessary hours of sleep at night were 55% more likely to be obese. The effect of sleep on weight gain appears to be linked to quite a few factors, including its impact on hormones and motivation. As you know, our health shop offers a wide range of supplements and herbs that can help you lose weight, but perhaps an herb like valerian could be even more effective!
Getting enough sleep makes you happier
Changes in our mood are one of the most obvious side effects of a lack of sleep, and many of us can tell plenty of stories about irritability, frustration, and even symptoms of depression when we become overtired. Sleep plays an important role in our ability to regulate positive and negative emotions and actually reduces our sensitivity to emotional stimuli. Science has shown that sleep deprivation reduces our ability to process important social cues. Together, these limitations can make it quite difficult to be sociable and cheerful. A wonderful herb that helps you sleep well and also makes you happier? Blue lotus!
Getting enough sleep improves your memory and performance
Do you want to perform well at work, on a date, or with your partner? Then good sleep is essential for your brain to function at an optimal level. A great herb that promotes both the ability to sleep and brain optimization is Skullcap. Sleep actually affects everything: from your ability to concentrate and solve problems to your ability to recall important information. Memory consolidation—the process of transferring information from our fleeting short-term memory to our long-term memory—takes place while we sleep. Even if you’re just an hour short on sleep, this can impair your performance in the same way as alcohol consumption. At the same time, sleep deprivation increases the number of mistakes we make while working.
Getting enough sleep improves our athletic performance
Did you think that exercising and eating well were enough? Think again! Sleep is at least as important as these two factors. Stanford researchers studied the effect of sleep on a group of basketball players. The study showed that getting enough sleep significantly improved the players’ speed, accuracy, reaction time, and overall sense of well-being. What’s more, sleep deprivation negatively impacts our metabolism and makes it harder for your body to convert sugars into energy to get you through the day feeling fit. And if that’s not enough, we have plenty of dietary supplements to give you an extra push in the right direction.
Getting enough sleep keeps your body healthy
It’s clear that sleep is essential. But going to bed just that one hour earlier every now and then can make a big difference in your health. Getting enough sleep, for example, is essential for our immune system to fight off infections. Even partial sleep loss can significantly impair the functioning of your immune system. At the same time, it has been shown that both too little sleep and too much sleep negatively impact heart health. Chronic short sleepers are 48% more likely to develop or die from heart disease. Do you often stay in bed until the afternoon? That actually increases the risk by 38%. If you combine a sleep or dream herb with a health-boosting herb, you’ll be ready to take on the day like never before!
In short: ignoring your sleep needs may sound like a trivial matter, but it has major effects on your health, social life, and mood.
