The Undeniable Power of Sleep

“Catch some Z’s”, “Get some shut eye”, “Hit the hay”…no matter how you like to say it, sleep is a crucial (and often underrated) key to enjoying a long, vibrant life. Unfortunately, productivity and always being “on the go” rule our modern world. The ironic twist is that you can actually be MORE productive getting more quality sleep! You’ll experience a greater quality of health, more positive sense of self, and you will slow down the aging process. 

Simply telling someone to “get more sleep” is misleading. The truth is, not all sleep is created equal. Two people could get the same amount of rest each night, but one might feel refreshed the next morning while the other can barely get out of bed. Why would this be?

In this article, we’re going to answer this question and provide a deeper understanding of what happens while we sleep, how to set the stage for the best sleep possible, and how you can find ways to enjoy moments of rest, even during your waking hours. 

​The Biological Impact of Rest

As with all things in the human body, what seems simple on the surface is infinitely more complex when further investigated. When we crawl into bed, snug under our covers, and drift off to dreamland, the brain and body are engaged in a symphony of activity. In fact, every system in the body is impacted by sleep. All of this activity is centered around three main goals. 

1. Renew and Sharpen Your Mind

Your brain takes in a LOT of information each day. If you put it in computer terms, the brain processes about 74 GB of information daily, which is equivalent to watching 16 full-length movies! Information is constantly coming from both the world around us as well as from within our bodies. This includes sensory input (sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch), emotional cues (facial expressions, tones of voice, body language), environmental (changes in temperature, light), communication (conversations, reading, non-verbal), movement and coordination (walking, running, muscles, joints), internal body signals (hunger, thirst, fatigue, heart rate, breathing, digestion), technology input (emails, social media, news, advertisements), problem solving (decisions, questions), subconscious information (automatic habits, background information). Like I said. Its A LOT! 

Sleeping gives the brain a chance to “reboot”.  It does so by organizing all inputs from the day, clearing out what doesn’t need to be there, locking in your memories and new things you’ve learned, and much more. Sleep is like the “invisible architect” that sharpens your memory, strengthens mental clarity, and fuels creativity. 

2. Restore and Rejuvenate Your Body 

Imagine your body as a high-tech factory running 24/7 to produce energy, repair damage, and keep everything operating smoothly. Sleep is the factory’s maintenance crew—the engineers, mechanics, and inspectors who work behind the scenes during the night to ensure every machine is running at peak performance.

Now, what would happen if the maintenance crew didn’t show up? Machines begin to break down, small issues turn into major malfunctions, and the factory loses efficiency. Over time, the production line slows, the systems overheat, and eventually, the factory grinds to a halt. This is what happens to your body without good sleep. 

Remember, sleep affects EVERY area of your body. Here’s a little deeper look into the restoration component of sleep:

• Rebuilds cells, repairs your DNA, rejuvenates the skin
• Increases growth hormone (essential for cell repair, muscle growth, and metabolism).
• Decreases cortisol (the stress hormone) to help reduce inflammation and balance your blood sugar. 
• Balances hunger hormones like leptin and ghrelin, which control hunger and fullness and help prevent overeating and unhealthy weight gain 
• Boosts your immune system (i.e. white blood cells) to fight infections, inflammation, and stress. 
• Keeps your heart healthy by slowing heart rate and lowering blood pressure, allowing your heart to rest and recover. 
• Boosts liver function to detoxify the body, process fats, and balance blood sugar
• The brain’s glymphatic system (fluid-filled channels that remove waste from the brain) clears out toxins that accumulate through your waking hours. This includes beta-amyloid, which has been heavily linked to Alzheimer’s disease. 
• Glycogen stores are replenished, ensuring that your brain and muscles have the energy they need for the next day 

3. Future-Proof Your Health 

Like your 401k, consistent quality sleep is an investment in your future. You should imagine every great night of rest as a deposit into your energy and longevity bank account. Every poor night of sleep is like you making a “withdrawal” from that account. Making too many withdrawals can eventually have you “owing money”. 

Let’s take a look at the example of the brain, which is profoundly impacted by poor or little sleep and sleep debt. The brain’s ability to function and adapt become impaired and communication between the brain’s neurons is slowed, making it harder to think quickly, concentrate, and solve problems. Poor sleep disrupts memory consolidation, leading to forgetfulness and difficulty learning new information. Sleep debt also impacts the brain’s emotional center (the amygdala), causing mood imbalances (depression, anxiety, irritability), weak self control, and poor decision making. Poor sleep also allows for brain toxins to accumulate, increasing the risk of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia. 

In case you needed even more convincing of the importance of sleep, here are 10 stats of how poor sleep is quietly destroying your health (and your wallet!):  

1. Less than 6 hours of sleep per night raise your risk of heart disease by 48%
2. Chronic poor sleep doubles your risk of experiencing a stroke
3. Sleeping 5 hours or fewer per night increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 50%
4. Poor sleep leads to a 30% increase in beta-amyloid buildup, raising your risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia 
5. Just one night of poor sleep reduces your natural killer cell activity by 70%
6. Regularly sleeping less than 6 hours equates to a 55% higher chance of becoming obese
7. Chronic sleep deprivation is linked to a 12% higher mortality rate
8. Chronic poor sleep increases the likelihood of depression by 200-300%
9. Drivers on less than 5 hours of sleep are 400% more likely to be involved in an automobile accident 
10. Estimated that sleep deprivation costs the global economy over $680 billion due to lost productivity and increased healthcare costs 

These statistics are a sobering reminder of how important good sleep truly is! 

Before we dive into the tips and tactics of getting quality sleep, I’d like to touch on one more element, which is REM sleep. 

Now let’s dive into one last topic when it comes to quality rest: REM Sleep

REM Sleep: The Critical Stage for Restoration

REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement) is one of the most important phases of the sleep cycle. It’s during this stage that your brain becomes most active, consolidating memories, processing emotions, and supporting neurological health. REM sleep also plays a crucial role in physical restoration, regulating mood, and fostering creativity. Although REM makes up about 20-25% of your total sleep time, it is the most vital phase for cognitive and emotional functions.

Overview of REM Sleep

REM sleep typically occurs about 90 minutes after falling asleep, and the duration of REM periods increases throughout the night. During REM, the brain activity is similar to when you’re awake, but your body is in a state of temporary paralysis (except for essential functions like breathing and eye movement).
It is a critical time for mental health, problem-solving, and emotional processing. The average adult spends approximately 90-120 minutes in REM sleep each night.

Interesting REM Sleep Statistics

Memory Boost: Studies show that REM sleep enhances memory consolidation, especially for complex tasks. People deprived of REM sleep show 30% slower reaction times and memory recall compared to those who get adequate REM.

Emotional Health: REM sleep is essential for emotional regulation. Research from the Journal of Neuroscience experts have found that people who experience REM sleep deprivation are 60% more likely to overreact emotionally to situations.

Dreams and Creativity: The creative problem-solving processes during REM sleep improve by 32% after a good night’s rest, according to a study published in Nature.

Brain Detoxification: During REM sleep, the glymphatic system (your brain’s waste disposal system) is highly active, clearing out toxic proteins like beta-amyloid, which are linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

Now that we’ve covered the basics of sleep, let’s dive into the tips and tactics that will help you get 

Now its time to look at the tactics you can implement immediately to take full advantage of high quality sleep: 

#1 Prioritize a Full Night’s Sleep: A full 7-9 hours of sleep allows your brain and body to complete the entire process it needs to keep your health optimized. Since REM sleep periods lengthen as the night progresses, ensuring 7-9 hours of sleep is key. If you routinely cut your sleep short, you’ll miss out on the most substantial REM stages that occur later in the sleep cycle. In addition, growth hormone production has been shown most prevalent between 10:00 PM – 2:00 AM.

#2 Maintain a Consistent Sleep Schedule: Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day helps regulate your body’s internal clock, promoting a stable sleep pattern and ensuring you experience all cycles of sleep, including REM. You also need to consider your last meal of the day when it comes to this schedule. You want your digestive system to be mostly shut down as you sleep.  Aim for your last meal to be at least 3 hours before bedtime.

#3 Create a Relaxing Pre-Bedtime Routine:  Wind down with calming activities like reading, meditation, or light stretching. Avoid screens and bright lights at least 1 hour before bed to support melatonin production and optimize sleep quality, including REM.

#4 Limit Alcohol and Caffeine:  Alcohol might help you fall asleep faster, but it disrupts all phases of sleep. Alcohol can also contain sugar, which can lead to a drop in blood sugar as you sleep. To maintain balance, the body will raise blood sugar levels, which can also disrupt sleep.
Caffeine can stay in your system for hours, reducing both the quantity and quality of REM. Try to avoid alcohol and caffeine in the late afternoon and evening. 

#5 Ensure a Sleep-Friendly Environment: Keep your bedroom cool (between 60-67°F), dark, and quiet. A lower temperature environment helps keep your metabolism at a lower rate of function, allowing your body the chance to detoxify and reduce inflammation. A comfortable sleep environment promotes better overall sleep, including REM phases. Consider using blackout curtains, white noise machines, or earplugs if needed.

#6 Address Stress: Chronic stress and anxiety can significantly reduce REM sleep. Consider adopting stress-relieving habits such as yoga, journaling, or mindfulness meditation, which can help calm the nervous system and increase sleep quality.  I’d also add a complete mineral supplement to your nighttime routine. These can help put you into a more relaxed state, both physically and mentally.  Also, I would take magnesium every night to help improve sleep quality and reduce stress. 

#7 Take Short Naps:  Incorporate short naps (15-30 minutes) during the day to boost immune and cardiovascular function. Research shows that brief naps can also help reverse the hormonal impact of a poor night’s sleep. Naps are really effective and are something we have been missing from American culture. It’s been shown that three 30 minute naps per week can reduce your risk of heart disease by over 30%!

#8 Active Rest: Practice “active rest” during the day—take regular breaks, go for a walk, or do light stretching to refresh your mitochondria and promote steady energy levels throughout the day. Stretching needs to be a part of your every day routine anyways. It’s especially needed the older we get!
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#9 Practice Grounding: Try grounding techniques such as walking barefoot on grass or using a grounding mat, as these have been shown to help regulate the nervous system. There are also some grounding bed sheets that seem to work well. I haven’t tried them yet, but it’s on my list!

Some interesting sleep statistics:
I provided some more startling stats when it comes to poor rest. Let’s bring some hope by showing you what could happen when you start enjoying consistent, high-quality rest:

1. Boosted Brain Power: Getting 7-9 hours of sleep improves memory consolidation by up to 40%, helping you retain and recall information more effectively. (Nature Reviews Neuroscience)

2. Reduced Risk of Heart Disease: Sleeping 7-8 hours per night lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease by 35%, compared to those who sleep fewer than 6 hours. (Journal of the American Heart Association)

3. Enhanced Immune Function: People who get quality sleep are 4 times more likely to resist the common cold than those who sleep fewer than 5 hours. (JAMA Internal Medicine)

4. Better Emotional Stability: People who sleep well are 60% less likely to experience mood swings or depressive symptoms compared to those with poor sleep. (American Psychological Association)

5. Improved Blood Sugar Regulation: Adequate sleep increases insulin sensitivity by 24%, reducing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. (The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology)

6. Faster Physical Recovery: Athletes who sleep 8+ hours have a 20% faster muscle recovery time after intense physical activity. (Journal of Sports Sciences)

7. Reduced Inflammation: Consistent quality sleep reduces markers of chronic inflammation, like C-reactive protein (CRP), by 33%, lowering risks for arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. (Nature Communications)

8. Improved Cognitive Performance: A good night’s sleep enhances problem-solving abilities and decision-making speed by up to 50%. (Current Biology)

9. Healthier Weight Management: People who sleep well are 45% less likely to become obese, thanks to balanced hunger hormones and reduced cravings for high-calorie foods. (Obesity Reviews)

10. Longer Life Expectancy: Sleeping 7-9 hours per night is associated with a 15% lower risk of premature death, compared to chronic short sleepers. (Sleep Health Journal)

Conclusion

What I love about the human body is that its essentially a partnership within ourself. We make the right daily lifestyle choices and behaviors and our brain and body will perform the millions of activities it needs to do at a high level. If we choose the wrong lifestyle habits, then the systems of our body will do their best, but will eventually falter. 

Personally I greatly dislike the phrase “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” The truth is, the longer you go without quality sleep, the closer you are to literal death. Too many people think that staying up longer and working harder is the key to their success. Getting proper sleep allows you to be more productive, but not just in your business or career. Your relationships will be more rewarding. Your body will become stronger and more youthful. Your mind and emotions will stay in a more joyful place and allow you to work within a feeling of positivity, instead of the roller coaster emotions of depression and anxiety. Surprisingly, working less and resting more can help you make MORE money. This is because your productivity will be more effective, your decision making will be on point, and your mental clarity and focus will allow you to work smarter, not harder. 

Start implementing these sleep changes TONIGHT and remember to stay consistent! Your mind and body thrive with consistency. I challenge you to keep the same sleep schedule for 30 days and see just how much more enjoyable your life will become.