Sleep affects how we perform during the day, how we look, how we feel and can have a major impact on our overall health. According to the dictionary sleep is; “A condition of body and mind such as that which typically recurs for several hours every night, in which the nervous system is relatively inactive, the eyes closed, the postural muscles relaxed, and consciousness practically suspended.”

So what happens when we sleep? Most people believe our minds shut down, but this is far from the truth. During sleep our minds focus on processing important information. It helps to restore our brains and strengthen our memories. Exactly why our bodies work like this is still a bit of a mystery, but what is not a mystery is that we NEED ENOUGH sleep. Adults need 6-8 hours of sleep every night. It is also best when you stick to a bedtime and wake at the same time every morning. Your body will get into the routine and you are more likely to have a better night’s sleep.

The effects of too little sleep include:

• Heart disease, like heart attack, heart failure, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure and stroke.
• Diabetes
• Accidents, some of the biggest disasters of all time was caused by sleep deprivation. The 1979 nuclear accident at Three Mile Island and the 1986 Nuclear Meltdown at Chernobyl, including others. Drowsiness can impair your reaction time the same way alcohol can. There were over 100 000 car accidents of which 1550 were fatal last year in the US alone, due to sleep deprivation.
• Decrease your brain power. During sleep our minds have time to organise and store memories. When we don’t get enough sleep, information gets lost.
• Causes depression and anxiety which can lead to insomnia.
• Ages your skin. When someone has had a few late nights in a row, the first place you can see it is in their face. Puffy bags and dark circles under their eyes are the major tell tale signs. But, prolonged lack of sleep can lead to wrinkles, fine lines and lacklustre skin.
• Makes you forgetful. When you don’t get enough sleep your mind has to take a lot of strain. Thus new information gets discarded.
• Cause weight gain. Have you ever noticed that you get more peckish after a certain time at night?  This is usually when you dig up the cookies and crisps. Your metabolism slows down after dinner and when you snack in the early morning hours, your food does not get digested but sits there until all systems are working at breakfast time. When the food is waiting, your body absorbs all the fat, sugar and bad stuff and it all gets stored on your hips, buttocks and thighs.
• Impairs judgement. As previously mentioned, if your brain does not get sufficient time to process information, it gets overloaded and tired. When faced with any decision your mind will choose the easiest or shortest route. Lack of sleep will almost always lead to bad decision making.

There are numerous people who think power naps during the day will compensate for sleeping less at night. This is untrue. Yes, you do feel revitalised after a power nap, but simply put, you are still running on fumes. Power naps are great before an important meeting or before solving major problems, but you still need your 6-8 hours of sleep every night. A power nap is not long enough for your brain to process your whole day’s information, only increments.

Ozone Therapy can help improve your sleep as well as your brain function. Ozone Therapy can increase the oxygen levels in your body, increase cellular respiration, strengthen the immune system, relieve stress, fight anxiety, improve blood circulation, fight insomnia, increase brain function, enhance memory and neutralise toxins and impurities in the body.

Will you improve your sleep?