Why good sleep is so important

Do you jump out of bed every morning refreshed and fully motivated, ready for the small to large hurdles of everyday life? No? Then you're like most of the general public. Lack of concentration, tiredness and listlessness are some of the consequences of poor sleep. Don't let these consequences slow down your performance.

In the following article, you will learn more about the importance of sleep for your body and mind and which simple remedies will bring you restful nights again.

 

Sleep can strengthen your immune system

Lack of sleep has a devastating effect on your immunity, which means you are more susceptible to infections and therefore sick more often¹. Providing your body with enough sleep gives your immune cells and proteins the energy they need to fight off attackers like colds and flu.

 

More sleep can help prevent weight gain

Have you always wondered who the culprits are for your nightly cravings after a stressful day? Then watch out!

The reason for unwanted fat deposits can also be a lack of sleep. The 8 hours of sleep are not enough to make the pounds fall off by themselves, but the production of the body's own ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates the appetite, is prevented. In addition, the production of leptin, the hormone that regulates your feeling of fullness, is minimised.

So ghrelin and leptin together are the dangerous combination to which our uncontrolled cravings and snacking are due².

 

Sleep can strengthen your heart

On the subject of hormones, there is another hormone that needs to be mentioned. This is the stress hormone cortisol. This is released during sleep deprivation and ensures that the heart beats harder. The consequences of this stress are not infrequently heart disease, such as high blood pressure or even heart attacks. Your heart, just like your immune system, needs rest in order to function fully³.

 

Sleep can increase productivity

As mentioned earlier, procrastinating your night's rest can slow down your performance at work or school. To make matters worse, you have to contend with that uncontrolled microsleep that naturally overtakes you at the worst possible time in an important meeting or class. Unfortunately, you can't compensate for your lack of sleep by drinking copious amounts of coffee and various energy drinks. 

Sufficient sleep naturally increases your concentration and thus reduces the likelihood of unnecessary mistakes⁴.

 

Simple help for sleep problems

According to statistics, more than a third of adults suffer from sleep deprivation. Those affected get less than 7 hours of sleep a night. Do you belong to this third? Then you should take a closer look at cannabidiol and melatonin:

Cannabidiol is also known by the abbreviation CBD. It is produced from hemp flowers by means of various extraction processes. Unlike the well-known THC, the effect is never psychoactive, which means that you do not experience any kind of "high" feeling when taking CBD. It only has a calming effect and increases the quality of your sleep⁵.

Research has shown that CBD works synergistically with melatonin. 

Melatonin is an endogenous hormone that tells your body it's time to sleep. It is produced in the pineal glands of your brain and helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle, which can be disrupted by factors such as stress, insomnia, alcohol or too much ambient light before bedtime. 

If not enough melatonin is produced in the body, you can support your body by taking supplements⁶.

 

Note

People under the age of 18 are not allowed to purchase CBD in Germany.

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If you have any health questions or complaints, you should always consult a doctor you trust. This text cannot replace professional advice from a doctor or pharmacist. Furthermore, the contents should not be used as a basis for independent diagnosis or for starting, changing or stopping treatment of diseases.

The contents listed on this website have been created with the greatest possible care. It is intended solely for information and further education on the subject. freigeist.works does not guarantee that the content is correct, up-to-date or complete.

Sources

1. Irwin M, McClintick J, Costlow C, Fortner M, White J, Gillin JC. Partial night sleep deprivation reduces natural killer and cellular immune responses in humans. FASEB J. 1996 Apr;10(5):643-53. doi: 10.1096/fasebj.10.5.8621064. PMID: 8621064.
2. Patel, S.R. and Hu, F.B. (2008), Short Sleep Duration and Weight Gain: A Systematic Review. Obesity, 16: 643-653. https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2007.118
3. Cappuccio FP, Cooper D, D'Elia L, Strazzullo P, Miller MA. Sleep duration predicts cardiovascular outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. Eur Heart J. 2011 Jun;32(12):1484-92. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehr007. Epub 2011 Feb 7. PMID: 21300732.
4. Walker MP, Liston C, Hobson JA, Stickgold R. Cognitive flexibility across the sleep-wake cycle: REM-sleep enhancement of anagram problem solving. Brain Res Cogn. 2002 Nov;14(3):317-24. doi: 10.1016/s0926-6410(02)00134-9. PMID: 12421655.
5. Chagas MH, Eckeli AL, Zuardi AW, Pena-Pereira MA, Sobreira-Neto MA, Sobreira ET, Camilo MR, Bergamaschi MM, Schenck CH, Hallak JE, Tumas V, Crippa JA. Cannabidiol can improve complex sleep-related behaviours associated with rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder in Parkinson's disease patients: a case series. J Clin Pharm Ther. 2014 Oct;39(5):564-6. doi: 10.1111/jcpt.12179. epub 2014 May 21. PMID: 24845114.

6 Döring, Annemarie, Neue Erkenntnisse über Melatonin, Was ist dran an dem "Wunderhormon"?, Das Schlafmagazin, 1/2008, retrieved 12.04.2022 from https://www.dasschlafmagazin.de/archiv/ausgaben2008/dsm-1-08#c197