Stress should be a powerful driving force, not an obstacle. - Bill Phillips
How much does stress play a role in your life? I know that for me, stress drives me to accomplish much more than I would if i did not feel the pressure to accomplish things for other people. Whether for their benefit (because I am so very nice) or for my own gain (who doesn't want to get ahead?), stress compels me to do A LOT and sometimes worry a lot. That is not the only type of stress I will refer to in this post.
We have all heard that cortisol is your stress hormone and you have to produce cortisol in order to have energy to work, burn fat, metabolize proteins and carbohydrates, etc. So what? Why is it so important to sleep? Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands. It shares a push-pull relationship with melatonin (your sleep hormone). Cortisol is naturally high in the morning - when you should be waking up. Melatonin is the hormone that induces sleep and is naturally low in the morning. As the day progresses, your cortisol levels steadily decline as your melatonin levels gradually increase.
Sounds simple right?
Not if you have sleep problems or waking up problems!
Lots of factors can influence/mess up these levels: work or family stress, lifestyle, addictions, diet, exercise (or lack of it), habitually staying up too late, etc. Now there are lots of potential remedies for sleep ranging from folk remedies to prescription drugs. Which one is best? It is always advisable to try the natural remedies first due to the addictive nature of many pharmaceutical drugs. Many people find relief for their sleep issues when they just give themselves time to reprogram their sleep habits.
Our bodies are designed to respond to stress - we are resilient creatures. But we are not super-human! If you continually assault your body with alcohol, rich food, crazy work hours, no exercise and the naturally occurring stressors in our environment that we have little control over (pollution), your body will wear down faster. Old people diseases are happening at much younger ages than ever. Can sleep make it all just go away? No, but it is an important tool in the good health toolbox. Adequate sleep is essential for clear thinking, memory retention and healthy metabolism.
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