Why do We Need Sleep?

Sleep is one of the most important things we do each day.

A bad nights sleep sets you up for a difficult day ahead. Without sleep it's nearly impossible to function properly.

Not to mention, getting 6 hours of sleep per night is linked to lower life expectancy.

Can lack of sleep actually kill you? Over the long term, studies show poor sleep can shave years off your life. 

What does Sleep do to your Body?

When we're sleeping our body is essentially recharging and on low power mode. It's where muscle is built and helps you recover from whatever the day throws at you.

If you aren't getting quality sleep each night, you're shooting self in the foot for the next day.

Sleep is crucial for recovery but what actually happens when you're getting some Z's?

While you may not appear to be doing much to the human eye. Your body is actually quite active. Thousands of neurons switch from a waking state to a sleeping state, sending signals throughout the body.

Sleeping lowers the human body's:

• Heart rate
• Core body temperature
• Breathing rate
• Muscle tension

While we still don't know everything about sleep, research shows sleeping helps regulate the bodies core processes like cardiovascular health, metabolism, and immune system.

Insufficient sleep can hurt your mental health and exacerbate physical health problems if your body isn't getting the quality sleep it needs.

What Prevents Quality Sleep?

Exercising once a day and taking walks often will help make you feel tired before falling asleep.

If you have disturbances in your sleep throughout the night it can mess up the flow of your sleep cycles. Small changes in your daily habits before bed can go a long way in making sure you sleep the night.

Here are the following things interrupting your best nights sleep:

• Drugs and alcohol
• Caffeine
• Blue light 
• Stress
• Eating before bed

Cessation from caffeine 4 hours before bed, ideally 2pm should be your last cup of coffee or tea.

Avoid alcohol or drugs 2-3 hours before bed as well. Avoid staring at your phone's screen and substitute scrolling with a nice book. 

If you're stressed? Unwind by taking a stroll before bed and exercise some positive thinking. 

More REM = Better Sleep

Rapid Eye Movement (REM) is the deepest stage of sleep cycle.

This stage of the sleep cycle is where your body is getting the most beneficial rest during the entire night asleep. 

Think of the other stages of non-REM sleep are helping prepare the body for deeper sleep. Your heart rate drops, your breathing, and brain waves slow down too.

There are three other non-REM sleep stages the body cycles through but REM is the most important. Typically, you cycle through each stage 3-5x per night.

The first cycle into REM only lasts a few minutes. The deeper we sleep the longer we can stay in REM. The last cycle into REM can last an hour sometimes even longer.

For a healthy nights rest, aim for 7-8 hours of sleep and an hour and a half of REM sleep. So roughly 20% of your sleep should be in REM.

For athletes and people serious about tracking their sleep hygiene you can use a Whoop, Oura, or even an Apple Watch.

How Does PreSleep Help With Sleeping?

PreSleep is comprised of magnesium, glycine, zinc, and l-theanine.

These amino acids and trace minerals were carefully selected to help you relax, fall asleep, and stay asleep throughout the night.

Most people are magnesium deficient and we would argue those who are deficient in magnesium typically suffer from insomnia.

Glycine is an amino acid helps you fall and stay asleep but it also can give you crazy vivid dreams. Think of glycine as a means of boosting your REM sleep cycles.

While there are other ingredients in PreSleep magnesium and glycine are the most impactful ingredients to optimize your sleep cycles.

Conclusion on Why We Need to Sleep

Sleeping is not just when our bodies recover and grow from workouts it's how we regulate core body functions.

Without sleep, we wouldn't have energy to tackle what tomorrow throws at us. I'm sure you can think of a time you didn't get enough sleep and the next day you were irritable and groggy yearning for your bed.

Getting a good nights rest is how we increase our quality of life and achieve our fitness goals.

So, stop sleeping on your health and start dreaming!