Right up until he passed away, Dr John Hinwood was a prolific blogger (an award-winning blogger in fact!). John’s blog’s shared musing from a rich history of experience, learnings, travel and wisdom.
The Hinwood Institute is named in honour of Dr John and to continue his legacy, we’re republishing his blogs to keep his wisdom, wit and wise words alive for the world to enjoy.
You can learn more about the legacy of Dr John Hinwood HERE.
The Importance of Quality Sleep at Night
Moving from six hours to seven hours of sleep at night can make a huge difference to your life. Living a stress-less life and avoiding some serious health challenges.
The year 2018 has seen a surge in research studies that are all showing that an extra hour’s sleep can save your life.
Adults should sleep 7 or more hours per night on a regular basis to promote optimal health.
The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine reported that less than 7 hours of sleep at night on a regular basis is associated with adverse health outcomes.
This includes weight gain and obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and stroke, depression, and increased risk of death.
It is also associated with impaired immune function, increased pain, impaired performance, increased errors, and greater risk of accidents.
The 5 Key Reasons to Prioritise 7 Hours of Sleep at Night
1. Boost your life expectancy as research at Warwick University in the UK. Sleeping less than 6 hours a night will reduce it by 12%.
2. Reduce sugar cravings, a UK study found happened when participants increased the amount of sleep. They got each night reduced their added sugar intake by as much as 10 grams. The next day, they compared the amount of sugar they consumed at the beginning of the study and it was reduced.
3. Decrease your risk of breast cancer by getting more sleep at night, UK University researchers tell us. The brain makes melatonin only at night and it regulates our sleep cycles.
It has been speculated that a lack of melatonin will put women at higher risk of suffering from breast cancer.
4. Protect your grey matter was the finding by Washington University researchers. A prolonged lack of sleep at night can cause the brain to produce excess amounts of amyloid beta protein. It’s responsible for the development of Alzheimer’s Disease.
5. Improve your heart health. According to study, poor sleep can worsen the risk factors for heart disease. Find out what you can do to improve both the quality of your sleep and how much sleep you get.
“I have to remind myself, just like my patients, to make sleep a priority,” says Johns Hopkins neurologist and sleep specialist, Rachel E. Salas, M.D. It’s so easy to say, “I’ll just catch up on some work for a bit or watch TV.”
The Discipline of Having a Sleep Routine at Night
She finds that the simple act of telling herself that sleep is important helps her choose it over other temptations. The key for her is being consistent about when she sleeps at night.
“I used to think I could make up for sleep on the weekends, but doing that negatively impacts sleep quality,” she says. Now she tries to have a consistent bedtime and waking time seven days a week.
Are you getting enough sleep at night? How has the quality and duration of your sleep impacted your health and daily life?
Share your experiences and tips with us in the comments below – let’s start a conversation about the importance of sleep and wellbeing!
P.S. If you’d like to know how likely your stress will lead to ill health, you may try our Stress Test below.
How well do you roll with the punches?
How it works:
- Answer 25 simple questions
- Generate results instantly
- Receive feedback to enhance your score
Listen to the Podcast here
About the Author
Dr John Hinwood has shared the stage with Dr John Demartini, Dr Deepak Chopra, Dr Wayne Dyer, Dr Joe Dispenzia, Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul fame), Dr Bruce Lipton, Dr Masaru Emoto and others who are at the cutting edge of human behaviour and mindset change.
He has written 14 books with 4 being Amazon international best sellers. He has had papers published in academic journals and was once Captain/Coach of the Danish National Rugby Team. Dr. John’s experience as a health professional by training, successful businessman by effort and an inspiration by inclination has given him an awesome array of practical tools for success.