Sleep impacts all aspects of our lives and plays an important role on our health and well-being.
Impact of sleep on exercise and physical performance
Sleep loss and accumulated sleep debt can impair our physical performance, particularly when there is a strong cognitive component associated to the activity. However, its impact is dependent on a variety of factors including individual variability, the type of training and sport as well as training familiarity and habit.
Falling victim of social jet lag?
Although extra time in bed over the weekend can help to alleviate some of the accumulated sleep dept, continuous misalignment of our circadian rhythm through recurring social jet lag, much like the effects of shift work, not only increases daytime sleepiness and is a contributing factor to the Monday Blues, but has also shown to…
Are you getting sufficient sleep?
Insufficient sleep is most commonly a result of a late bedtime and/or early wake time, or difficulties falling asleep or staying asleep throughout the night. Although one or two hours of sleep loss may not appear to be significant, there is an cumulative effect when repeated each night which can lead to devastating effects on…
Know your chronotype
Chronotype refers to the preferred timing throughout the day-night period for when we sleep, as well as for activities and performance during wakefulness. It is most popularly defined into two categories: Morning types (larks) and Evening types (owls).
Synchrony of the circadian rhythm for healthy sleep
A healthy and strong circadian rhythm is needed, not only for good quality sleep, but has various effects on our health and well-being.
Light regulates our internal clock
It is commonly mentioned to avoid bright lights and screen time before bed in order to achieve better sleep. This is because the eyes have a direct connection to the structure of the brain that regulates our circadian rhythm, our internal biological clock.
Caffeine affecting your sleep?
Caffeine has direct action on the wake promoting system in our brain and is a popular and widely used stimulant. However, depending on individual sensitivity to caffeine in our system, it can also impact the quality and quantity of our night-time sleep.
Sleep and appetite regulation
Lack of sleep modulates two hormones that regulate our appetite: leptin and ghrelin.
Why do we sleep?
Sleep plays a vital role and is considered to be a fundamental pillar for our health and well-being.
What is sleep?
Sleep is not a passive ‘shut down’ state but rather an altered physiological state that cycles between NREM and REM sleep.
When do we sleep?
Timing of sleep is dependent on two main processes: the circadian rhythm and the homeostatic pressure for sleep.
Who sleeps?
Sleep, to different extent, can be found in all living creatures.
New content is uploaded regularly so check back for more Sleep Facts!
The Sleepyhead 