Sleep is one of the five pillars of health. But I don't see it as a pillar. Rather, I see a foundation upon which the others derive more stability. A habit of sufficient, quality sleep makes creating and sustaining all other habits more doable! Conversely, poor sleep not only undermines our wellbeing, but is a trigger for hormone and other bio-chemical reactions that hijack our brain.

The advice to simply "Have some self control, some willpower" is judgmental and simply wrong and counterproductive numerous levels. The role of sleep highlights the many ways our modern environment and lifestyles are messing with our brain. One clear mechanism is poor sleep disrupting chemical and hormone signaling to the brain, literally hijacking our good intentions and emotional balance, even our perceptions of reality.
We're told to eat whole foods and avoid sugars, but a sleep deprived brain will tells us to keep eating when we should feel full - the more starchy sugary carbs the better! We're told to exercise, to be active, but the brain tells us to conserve energy (minimize physical activity for survival.) We want to be more social, but our mood makes us retreat into solitude. To make matters worse, poor sleep weakens the connections between the rational executive brain and our impulsive, primitive brain so it's even harder to override the corrupted messaging that leads to impulsive choices!
All that said, we have an incredible gift in sleep. Treated with the respect it deserves, sleep has a nightly transformative power that generates wellbeing and the capacity to tackle life's challenges. Some of sleep's powers include:
Providing rest, repair and rejuvenation for vitality and mental clarity.
Reducing feelings of depression and anxiety.
Creating better metabolic health - weight, blood pressure, blood glucose, insulin, and lipid levels.
Reducing risk for virtually all conditions associated with aging - cancer, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, memory loss, and Alzheimer's Disease to name a few.
When our brain gets the right signals and has the energy to do it's job, everything else in life becomes gets better and more doable. Explore our Sleep Basics Playbook for more details and resources to help you optimize sleep for living well today and long into the future.
Wishing you well,
Janice
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