5 reasons to invest in Sleep!

First, I want to apologize of not writing for a long time. I have at least 10 texts that I've started but was never able to finish. I love my blog, and I need to give it the attention it needs :) 

I have been asked about my sleeping habits so I wanted to give you a little overview of my daily routine and sleep. I love sleeping. It's one of my favorite things to do. For me its not hard to sleep enough, since I simply cannot sleep too little. If I try to stay up when my body tells me its time to sleep my eyes start going twisted and I can't stay up anymore, no matter where I am or who I am with. 

I am one of those boring people who wants to go to sleep at 11pm and wake up at 6:30am with FULL energy. I have been like this ever since I was a little girl and was waiting for my best friend for 4 hours to wake up in the mornings. During the weekdays I usually go to bed around 10:30pm or 11pm and I am in deep sleep at 11:30pm. I wake up around 6:30am not being tired at all anymore.

On weekends, I usually try to stay up a little later. I still go to sleep around 12 or a little after and wake up around 8am.

I try to avoid caffeine after 5pm and I don't like to exercise after 7pm. I also usually eat my last meal around 6pm and if I'm hungry after that I can drink a smoothie or eat a banana with almond butter. 

My sleep is not always perfect. If I am stressed or something is bothering me, I start waking up at night and can't go back to sleep. These times its best to spend the last hours of the day doing the things you enjoy the most and try to keep your mind there when going to sleep.

I know there are many people who are suffering from too little sleep. It's usually either caused on purpose when staying up too late is more fun ,or because of stress or work overload. There are people who are the opposite of me, they have the most energy in the evenings but they still need to wake up 6:30am when their eyes are the twisted ones.

I believe that we all are either morning or evening people. But I am almost sure that you can change your sleeping habits and get into a routine that fits your life the best. And you should. Let me know if you need help with it, I would love to help!

This is why its important to invest in sleep.

1. Weight control and metabolism: Sleep deprivation may cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates, and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite. Not only you are more likely to crave unhealthy foods but you are also more likely to skip the exercise.
2. Learning and memory: Sleep helps the brain accept new information to memory through a process called memory consolidation. In studies, people who’d slept after learning a task did better on tests later.
3. Mood and social life: Sleep loss may result in irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness. Too little sleep can also leave you too tired to do the things you like to do.
4. Healthy heart: Serious sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and irregular heartbeat.
5. immune system: Sleep deprivation alters immune function, including the activity of the body’s killer cells. Keeping up with sleep may also help fight cancer.