5 Facts That Changed How I Think About Sleep

Foundational Health Principle 10: Get Consistent Quantity of Sleep

We know sleep is important, but increasing research shows it is the foundation of health – to the degree that you should sacrifice exercise and most other habits if you are not getting a good baseline of sleep.

One tip: Eight Sleep was one of my best purchases. It heats/cools during the night to regulate your temperature, leading to better sleep. 

Fact 1: If someone sleeps four hours per night for six nights, they experience a 400% increase in the number of microsleeps they experience during the day (usually without realizing it).  (UPenn)

Fact 2: In 2019, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified night shift work as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” (Esmo)

Fact 3: The better sleep a person got, the more likely they were (on average) to have lower blood glucose the next morning. (Lund University)

Fact 4:  When a sleep-deprived doctor finishes a long shift and gets in their car to go home, they are 168% more likely to be involved in a motor vehicle incident due to fatigue. (Why We Sleep)

Fact 5: Consistent sleep is critical to preventing chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and stroke. (Frontiers)

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