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July 28, 2020
This is Noah. And this is Chloe.
Chloe slept early the night before and got the recommended average of 7 to 9 hours of sleep that adults need.1 Noah didn’t. Like many of the 40% of Australians who don’t get enough sleep.2 Noah thinks sleep is lost time. Chloe knows sleep is as important as diet and exercise for maintaining good health.
Noah’s not feeling great today. After a poor night’s sleep, he’s grumpy, irritable and a bit emotionally unstable. Chloe, however, is feeling delighted. She’s just beaten her personal best time. It’s no secret that sleep can improve athletic performance in a number of sports.3
It’s during sleep that our bodies release human growth hormone, which heals and repairs our muscle and bone. It looks like Noah isn’t going into work today. Did you know inadequate sleep costs the Australian economy over 25 billion dollars in lost productivity every year?4
I think Noah’s lost his keys. Can you find them? Poor sleep often causes forgetfulness because the brain hasn’t had the rest needed to grow new connections. That might explain his driving too. What will Noah’s Doctor say?
Oh look, it’s Chloe. As a doctor, Chloe sees many people just like Noah. She knows that those who sleep less than 7 hours a night triple their chances of catching a cold or flu compared with those who get over 8 hours.5 Let’s see why you need sleep to fight off bugs. Not those bugs.
Firstly, healthy sleep lowers your levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that suppresses the immune system. When you don’t get enough sleep, there’s fewer immune cells in your body. And if you have an infection, it also reduces the ability of your immune system to stage an effective fever response. If you find yourself ever feeling run down, the best thing you can do is sleep.
We’ve seen the good things that happen when you sleep – and the bad things that happen when you don’t. Sleeping well will replenish your energy and give your body and mind the daily reset it needs. You’ll even be a better person for it. There’s no better time to start than now. Try our free sleep assessment. And awaken your best.
Reference
1
Hirshkowitz et al. “National Sleep Foundation’s sleep time duration recommendations: methodology and results summary.” Sleep Health 1(1), 2015, pp. 40-43.
2
Resmed. Resmed Sleep Survey. Resmed, 2019.
3
Watson AM, “Sleep and Athletic Performance.” Curr Sports Med Rep.16(6), 2017, pp. 413-18.
4
Deloitte Access Economics. Asleep on the Job. Costs of Inadequate Sleep in Australia. Deloitte Access Economics, 2017.
5
Cohen et al., “Sleep habits and susceptibility to the common cold.” Arch Intern Med. 169(1), 2009, pp. 62-7.