Have you ever been in a situation where you just want to get some sleep, but your friends insist on going out or watching a movie? Here are some comebacks you can use on friends of the “you-snooze-you-lose” persuasion. Tell your pals you’re trying to prevent some of the negative effects of sleep deprivation listed below, while harnessing the positive results of getting the proper amount of sleep:
Two weeks and you’re drunk. That’s right, if you spend two weeks getting six hours of sleep you operate like your blood alcohol content is 0.1% — that’s over the legal limit to drive in most states.
Lose 1 lb. per week. Want to lose weight? According to Dr. James Maas, a nationally recognized authority on sleep, one extra hour of sleep each night can contribute to losing 1 lb. of body fat per week. Here’s what’s happening to your hormones when you’re sleep deprived: When you don’t get enough sleep your body produces more ghrelin, a hormone that tells your brain it’s time to eat. Also, you pump out less leptin, a hormone that says, “Put down the potatoes, you’re full.” This hormone imbalance can lead to weight gain, which can be prevented if you commit to sleeping more!
Einstein needed 10 hours of sleep. The wild-haired scientist knew how to recharge and you should follow his example. As you fend off your friends, feel free to insert personal comparisons to the world’s most recognized genius and they won’t question your decision to hit the hay.
Creativity spawns at night. Are you looking for a breakthrough idea, or trying to solve an important problem? You need to sleep. Information enters your brain through the hippocampus and sleep transfers those thoughts and ideas into the area where connections are made, your cerebral cortex. Harness that creativity and let your next big idea come to you!
Your golf game needs an overhaul. Do you play golf, tennis, or any sport requiring hand-eye coordination? You need to get familiar with phase two sleep. There are four stages of sleep and during the second phase your brain produces something called sleep spindles. It’s during these moments of heightened brain activity that you process learned movements – like putting, or shooting a free-throw.
Think about it like this: your brain takes in everything that happens during the day and processes the most important pieces so it can use that information in the future.
The next time you’re pressured to catch the latest superhero flick, or grab another beer, think back to these sleep facts and you’ll be on your way to dreamland, ready to get the most out of tomorrow.
If you liked this blog post, you may want to check out my last blog post about an eye-opening sleep conference that I attended recently with some of my peers in the mattress industry.
