3 Compelling Facts About the Importance of Sleep You Need to Know

You need good, quality sleep if you want to Stop Settling for good enough and Start Living the fulfilling life you were meant to live. I know this, and you probably do too, but the importance of a good night’s sleep became even more apparent to me after watching a few Joe Rogan videos this weekend.

I want to share 3 compelling facts that I learned from these videos with you because becoming a Deliberate Thinker and realizing your full potential aren’t just about changing your mindset. You also have to change your body and the way you are taking care of your body. Without your health, you have nothing at all.

So, back to the videos, Joe was interviewing Matthew Walker who is a professor of neuroscience and psychology at UC Berkeley. And, he’s also the founder and director of The Center for Human Sleep Science at UC Berkeley. To keep this post short, I’m giving a cursory overview here, but I encourage you to watch the videos to get the whole story straight from him. Links are at the end of this post.

1. Alcohol blocks your dream sleep. So the very substance you may be using to help yourself relax and fall asleep, may be the very thing keeping you from experiencing quality sleep. Another fun fact: your brain knows how much dream sleep you need and will try to compensate for what you have lost. That’s why, once your body processes the alcohol, you may have some very intense dreams.
2. The World Health Organization has classified any form of nighttime shift work as a probable carcinogen due to its disruption of your sleep/wake rhythms. Studies have found a direct link between lack of sleep and cancer, specifically, bowel, prostate, and breast cancers. A direct link to an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s has also been found.

Keep scrolling to find the 3rd fact, especially if you struggle to manage your weight.