The benefits of deep sleep for your body

Sleep is as vital as eating and breathing, but often it is pushed to the side due to work, school and our personal lives. With this being said, we as Australians spend close to $66 billion a year on attempting to get the required daily dose of sleep. Our lack of sleep is having astronomical effects and dramatically impacting on our overall quality of lives.

What is deep sleep?

When our bodies relax and unwind, individuals are more likely to fall into a ‘deep sleep’ also known as ‘REM Sleep’. This is a state in which your body is able to reset, reenergize and detox. This enables the cleanse of your cells to be replaced, wounds to be healed, waste buildup is removed from the brain, your kidneys, and so much more. Research has discovered that adults need an estimated 1.5-1.8 hours on average of deep sleep every night, the equivalent to about 20% of your overall sleep.

Why do we need deep sleep?

Deep sleep is important not only for our short-term preparation for the next day but also for our long-term health as sleep is a contributing factor to the maintenance of our bodies. Failure to get enough sleep has direct ties to heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's, depression, obesity, stroke, and failure of the immune system.

What is causing us to not get deep sleep?

In today’s day and age, there are an infinite amount of elements that contribute to us as individuals not getting sleep in general, let alone deep sleep. We now possess the ability to experience light 24 hours a day. This infinite light impacts our brains’ ability to release sleep-inducing chemicals and therefore impacts our quality and quantity of deep sleep. This light is known as Blue Light which is emitted from our computers, phones, and TV’s. Furthering factors include experiencing stress, consuming caffeine, insomnia or other sleep disorders.

How can I get the sleep I need?

Getting the sleep you need can be relatively simple, often it just involves less screen-related activities before bed and a more routine schedule. In order to take care of your body, it is important to listen to it.

If sufficient sleep is still unattainable after cutting out caffeine, abiding by a healthy routine, and avoiding blue-light, consult your pharmacist to seek a solution.