My son Tsoof is 18 years old. As his mother, I am slightly biased, but he is very smart and talented. He is in his third year of university and is excelling in everything. He is taking extra subjects, plays in three bands, he teaches two music classes and is simultaneously composing music and working on producing a show..
This week, I read an article that explained one of the reasons why Tsoof is so successful. He sleeps a lot.
Sounds funny, right? Keep reading to see what I mean.
The article I read talked about the damage of not getting enough sleep. Tsoof, from a very young age, was a good sleeper. When other kids in day care did not need to take an afternoon nap, he still slept in the afternoon. Later on, when he was in primary school and even in high school, no matter what movie was on or what he had to do for school, he slept an average of 10 hours a night. Our two daughters consider sleep to be a waste of time, but Tsoof never needed to be “encourage” to go to bed. Today, he is busier than ever before and he still averages over 9 hours a night.
Are you sleeping enough? Sleep is the most natural, easy, cheap and effective way to overcome many life problems. Take a look at the list of 30 outcomes of not having enough sleep, evaluate your sleeping habits, fix them and make sure your kids are sleeping enough!
The damage of not sleeping enough
- Inability to control feelings.
- Bad temper. Next time your child or partner has a bad temper, send them to bed!
- Mood swings.
- Decrease in emotional intelligence due to an inability to read other’s feelings. If you are tired, you will not be able to parent properly.
- High risk of infection. A good night’s sleep is better than antibiotics.
- Weakened immune system.
- Weight gain. Tired people tend to eat more. Their choices usually include foods that high sugar content.
- Increased chance of cancer. Especially breast and prostate cancer.
- Increased chance of type 2 diabetes.
- Depression.
- Skin damage. Lack of sleep release the stress hormone, cortisol, which breaks down collagen, the protein that keeps our skin smooth and flexible.
- Does not allow the brain to release toxins from the brain.
- Shorter life spans. People who sleep less than 6 hours a night are more likely to die in the next 10 years than people who sleep over 6 hours.
- Damages the effectiveness of immunizations.
- Inconsistency in heart rate.
- Higher chance of heart attack. If you sleep less than 6 hours, you increase your chance of having a heart attack by 48%.
- Increase blood pressure. The risk is 3.5 times higher.
- Increased risk of stroke.
- Slower recovery after injury.
- Challenges in building muscles.
- Damage to the bones
- Increased chronic pain.
- Low mental ability. This explains why it is hard for kids to manage at school if they do not sleep enough. Next time you are upset with their report card, check their sleeping habit
- Limits creativity.
- Makes it harder for us to self regulate (which makes it harder to change habits). If you want to regulate your sleep, you need to change your sleeping habits… that’s a catch 22!
- Interferes with decision making ability.
- Greater risk of accidents.
- Slower reaction in emergencies.
- Damage short and long term memory.
- Kills brain cells which can lead to Alzheimer.
Do yourself a favor. When something is not working in your life, go to sleep!
Sweet dreams,
Ronit
