Snooze, you win – the benefits of a regular sleep schedule
Are you tired of feeling tired all the time? Do you struggle to fall asleep at night and wake up feeling groggy? Or do you still wake up tired after 8 hours of sleep?
If so, it's time to start prioritising your sleep schedule.
The science behind a consistent sleep schedule is clear - it can profoundly impact your quality of life.
From improving cognitive function, mood, and physical health to reducing stress levels, here are the benefits of a regular sleep schedule.
What is a consistent sleep schedule?
It's no secret that a good night's sleep is essential for our physical and mental health. But did you know that consistent sleep schedules can also improve your quality of life?
According to the National Sleep Foundation, a consistent sleep schedule helps regulate our body's natural sleep-wake cycle, known as our circadian rhythm. This internal clock helps to control when we feel sleepy and when we feel awake.
When our sleep schedule is inconsistent, it can disrupt our circadian rhythm and make it harder for us to get a good night's sleep. This can lead to fatigue, poor concentration, and irritability.
Benefits of a regular sleep schedule
A regular sleep schedule can improve your quality of life in several ways. Here's a closer look at some of the most important effects of regular sleep schedules.
Regulates the body's circadian rhythms
The circadian rhythm is the body's internal clock, regulating hormone levels, body temperature, sleep-wake cycles, and other bodily functions.
A regular sleep schedule helps regulate the body's circadian rhythm, allowing it to run more smoothly and efficiently.
That's because our bodies are designed to operate on a 24-hour circadian rhythm cycle. This natural sleep pattern is controlled by our internal "biological clock. It regulates everything from when we feel sleepy to when we feel energetic.
Disrupting our circadian rhythm by sleeping at different times each night can lead to all sorts of problems, including insomnia, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating.
Improves mood and cognitive function
Getting enough quality sleep is essential for good mental health.
A regular sleep schedule ensures that your body gets the rest it needs to function properly. This can help improve mood and cognitive function and reduce the risk of depression and anxiety.
Enhances the immune system and overall health
Getting enough sleep is important for overall health and wellness.
There are several reasons why sleep is so important for the immune system.
When you sleep, your body produces cytokines. These are proteins that help to fight off infection and inflammation.
In addition, sleep helps to reduce stress levels. Stress can impact the immune system, making it harder for the body to fight off illness.
Reduces risk of chronic health conditions
A regular sleep schedule can help to reduce the risk of chronic health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), chronic health conditions are "conditions that last one year or more and require ongoing medical attention or limit activities of daily living." Some examples of chronic health conditions include heart disease, stroke, sleep apnea, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and asthma.
Furthermore, research has shown that a lack of sleep can increase your risk of developing chronic health conditions. For example, one study found that individuals who slept less than six hours per night had a significantly increased risk of developing coronary artery disease.
Promotes a more restful and restorative sleep
A regular sleep schedule promotes more restful and restorative sleep. Having a consistent bedtime and wake time helps to set the body's internal clock, allowing you to fall asleep more easily and stay asleep longer. This can leave you feeling more refreshed and energised in the morning.
Tips for adopting a consistent sleep schedule
Fortunately, you can do a few simple things to help get your sleep cycle back on track. Here are some tips for adopting a consistent sleep schedule:
1. Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day, even on weekends.
2. Avoid caffeine and alcohol before bed. To get the most out of your sleep, avoid drinking coffee, tea, or other caffeinated beverages after 2 pm and abstain from alcohol at least 4 hours before bedtime.
3. Create a calming bedtime routine. A relaxing bedtime routine can help signal your body that it's time for sleep.
4. Avoid looking at screens for at least an hour before bed. The blue light emitted from TVs, computers, and phones can disrupt our natural melatonin production and make it harder to fall asleep.
5. It may take some time to adjust if you're not used to following a regular sleep schedule. But stick with it – your body will thank you!
A riddle to start the festive season 🌲🎁🌟
I'm a fruit. If you take away my first letter, I'm a crime. If you take away my first two letters, I'm an animal. If you take away my first and last letter, I'm a form of music. What am I?
Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post if you know the answer and the big reveal will be posted in the comments at 2pm on the day!
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Some Choice News!
Many New Zealand gardens aren’t seeing as many monarch butterflies fluttering around their swan plants and flower beds these days — the hungry Asian paper wasp has been taking its toll.
Thanks to people like Alan Baldick, who’s made it his mission to protect the monarch, his neighbours still get to enjoy these beautiful butterflies in their own backyards.
Thinking about planting something to invite more butterflies, bees, and birds into your garden?
Thanks for your mahi, Alan! We hope this brings a smile!
Why does New Zealand take such a long summer holiday break?
Most Kiwis are counting down the days until their summer holiday - whether they're heading off camping, heading to the bach or just taking a few lazy days at the beach.
But has it always been this way?
Richard Wolfe is a cultural historian and the author of more than 40 books about Aotearoa.
"Leaving town over Xmas and January has become a key part of the local cultural identity," Wolfe said.
The New Zealand History website, operated by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, calls the summer lull an "end-of-year prize for being a New Zealander".
However, not everyone is 100 percent on board with our somewhat leisurely summer pause.
A post on LinkedIn by business adviser Toss Grumley went viral in the past week, as Grumley wrote that he was "baffled every year by New Zealand's intense Christmas shut down".
"In what world as an economy and country are we operating in an environment where no business discussion can happen for a period of ten weeks," he asked. His question sparked debates on news and social media sites.
On NewsTalk ZB on Monday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he had spent much of his career working overseas where the long holiday break wasn't the same.
"In the US you maybe get two weeks' annual leave holiday and Christmas is a couple of days off and you're back at it again.
"I've always been used to going back to work on the 3rd or 4th of January," he said.
Auckland Business Chamber head Simon Bridges told Stuff : "There is a view that New Zealand just shuts down not just for Christmas and New Year, but in many cases, all the way through to March."
How did our long summer break become such a Kiwi institution, anyway?
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Wolfe said one of the big factors behind our long summer break is, well, the summer weather. Our Australian cousins benefit from that, too.
"I suggest that what's behind the 'summer break' is, fairly obviously, the local (antipodean) climate," he said.
Christmas in the Northern Hemisphere is in the middle of winter which isn't quite as conducive to long camping holidays and days at the beach.
And despite the image of an entire country putting on the brakes, not everyone in New Zealand actually takes off the entire summer until March.
"We want to shop, go to the movies or watch TV, and we expect everything to be available, so hospitals, power suppliers, the police and many other essential services still run 24/7," NZ History noted. "And if we live on a farm, then summer means more work, not holidays."
We also roll Christmas and New Year together with our "summer holiday," which places like America and Europe tend to do in August. There are also only a couple of public holidays between June and Christmas like Matariki and Labour Day.
One commenter wrote on Grumley's LinkedIn post that "people are exhausted by the end of the year" here in New Zealand, "so we shut down for a solid month".
Changing laws, changing transport
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Holidays as we think of them now are a fairly modern invention.
According to Te Ara the online encyclopedia of New Zealand, originally the two statutory holidays for Christmas and New Year's at the height of summer "provided a compelling reason" to take a break.
As far back as the 1860s even gold miners would take a break then, as Coromandel goldfields granted two weeks' special protections over claims.
The long holiday began to evolve over the 20th century thanks to tightening labour laws and the growth of wider travel with the introduction of the automobile and trains.
"Another important factor may have been the introduction of the Annual Holidays Act in 1944, making a two-week paid holiday a legal entitlement for full-time employers," Wolfe said.
Compared to some countries, Kiwis get a generous amount of paid leave time.
The latest version of the Holidays Act from 2003 entitles employees to at least four weeks of paid annual leave after 12 months of continuous work.
That's quite a contrast to, say, America, where there is no legally mandated paid holiday time.
New Zealand's geography and compact size meant the beach was the most likely place for labourers and their families to go.
"Because no part of the country is more than 120 km from the nearest coastline, the beach and associated baches became popular destinations," Wolfe said.
"I would suggest that the 'summer break' was established in the period of post-war prosperity in the 1950s, with the continuing growth in the number of privately owned cars, thereby increasing personal and family mobility."
But does a break really impact our economy?
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In his opinion piece, Grumley claimed the long holiday affects New Zealand's productivity.
Not everyone agrees.
"Work less, live more," one commenter wrote in response to his post.
Fleur Fitzsimons, national secretary of the union Public Service Association, said holidays are important to workers.
"New Zealand has a culture of long hours, workers need more holidays to recharge, reconnect with their families and get ready for the working year ahead."
The government has announced changes to the Holidays Act, which would see both annual and sick leave accumulate based on hours worked. Unions and opposition parties have said they fear that could trample workers' rights and entitlements.
Fitzsimons said the government has been taking rights away from workers by cancelling pay equity and introducing changes to the Employment Relations Act, calling it "out of touch" with the needs of working New Zealanders.
"If the government is serious about improving productivity, cutting holidays is the wrong approach.
"We have a mental health crisis in New Zealand - the last thing we should be doing is talking about fewer holidays."
Wolfe said that the current summer break may help workers recharge their energy for the year ahead.
"A shorter break might in fact have the opposite effect - creating disgruntlement among workers who feel they're being short-changed," Wolfe said.
"And as climate change kicks in and the world gets warmer, perhaps the summer break will become vital for maintaining the health and welfare of New Zealanders."
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