The most important part of health and life is sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, nearly six in ten Americans experience sleeplessness or insomnia at least once a week. Research is increasing that links good sleep to better well-being, lower rates of disease, happier people, and less fatigue.
The Division of Sleep Disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston have just completed a joint study that found that 204 college students greatly benefited from regular, good sleep. The 30-day study measured the length and sleeping time of these students who were aged between 18 and 25.
The students experienced significant improvements in their evening and morning happiness as they made the shift from irregular to regular sleeping patterns during the week. They also felt more calm and composed during the week. Even better sleep led to an increase in well-being the next day.
Akane Sano (PhD), a researcher scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge said that irregular sleep-wake patterns are common in modern society. Our findings show that regular sleep is linked to better well-being, as well as sleep duration.
Another interesting study published by American Academy of Sleep Medicine found that professional baseball players had increased their sleep hours over five nights and experienced significant improvements in their mental processing speed. Their daytime sleepiness, tension, fatigue, and fatigue all dropped by more than one-third.
Cheri D. Mah is the University of California San Francisco Human Performance Center’s lead researcher. She stated: “Our study shows that short-term sleep extensions of just one hour per day for five days have been shown to improve the visual search skills of athletes as well as their ability to respond quickly.” Sleep extension may be an effective recovery strategy for fatigue that can last throughout a season.
The minerals magnesium and calcium have been proven to be effective in treating insomnia. Research was conducted at the University of Medical Sciences, Iran on 46 people suffering from insomnia. Magnesium oxide tablets were found to significantly increase sleep time and reduce cortisol, which can be a stress hormone that keeps people awake at night.
Another research study was conducted by the Human Nutrition Research Center at the U.S. Dept. Scientists from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture found that deep sleep is linked to a higher magnesium intake. Magnesium-rich foods include black beans, green leafy vegetables and pumpkin seeds.
Numerous research studies have shown that better sleep is beneficial. It’s well worth the time and effort.
