Call me obsessive, but when I wake up I’ll glance at the Fitbit.
Rarely, do I get 7 hrs and the gratifying star that pings up next to it.
For years, I’ve been relaxed about sleep.
These days, I take it more seriously since reading Professor Walker’s Why We Sleep? The intro is brutal. More than a 1/3 of adults fail to get the recommended 7 to 9 hrs nightly, ever. Less sleep is linked to Alzheimer’s, Diabetes, strokes, depression and anxiety, even eating issues as tiredness triggers a false sense of hunger.
Remember Maggie’s 5 hours a night to nail the Falklands? Dementia later darkened her door.
In the UK, we are right up there with the US and Japan. In each, the increase in disease and mental health disorders is, to coin a phrase, “world-beating”.
Yet the upside of sleep is huge. It enriches brain function, learning, memory, metabolic rate, heart regulation and an immunity reboot. Walker says it’s “the most glaring omission in today’s health conversation.”
So, if you fancy supercharging your Wellbeing stick to a sleep schedule, avoid lengthy lie ins, kill caffeine and a tad less vino (do as I say, not as I do!)
Tonight, get your head down with Dr. Walker by the bed.