Tired of chasing that elusive glow? It might be closer than you think, right on your pillow! We all know sleep is crucial, but did you know it's the ultimate health hack? That’s right, sleep is a non-negotiable necessity for our wellbeing, so settle in as we uncover the secrets of beauty sleep and discover why catching those Z's is your ticket to radiant skin and vibrant health.

1. Emotional First Aid and Immune System Support

Ever heard the saying "Sleep on it"? Turns out, it's not just a phrase, it's backed by science. According to sleep expert Matthew Walker, sleep provides overnight therapy. Obtaining the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep takes the edge off difficult, painful and sometimes traumatic experiences, making them less emotionally charged.

REM sleep consolidates information and binds it together so that we wake up with problem-solving insights. While the memory of an event may persist, the emotional response upon recollection is reduced, allowing us to approach the associated problems with a clearer and more composed mindset, not a bad outcome for the simple task of popping that eye mask on and hitting the hay!

But wait, there's more! Quality sleep isn't just about emotional wellbeing, it's crucial for your physical health too. During sleep, immune cells, notably T cells, migrate to areas requiring their presence, facilitating enhanced interactions with other cells integral to immune responses. In essence what this means is improved sleep aids your body in fighting infections and helps you operate at your peak physical condition, “the shorter you sleep, the shorter your life,” claims sleep scientist Mathew Walker. Consistently skimping on sleep has been linked to a laundry list of health issues, from cardiovascular disease to obesity and type 2 diabetes.

So, next time you're tempted to burn the midnight oil, remember: your health and immunity are counting on those sweet dreams.

2. Waistline Watcher

A good night's sleep plays a crucial role in weight management, primarily through its impact on appetite-regulating hormones. In individuals with only 4-5 hours of sleep per night, leptin (our hormone that signals when it’s time to stop eating) decreased by 18%, while ghrelin (our hunger hormone, which tells us to keep eating) increased by 28%, leading to a 25% rise in hunger levels.

Find yourself reaching for those choccy biscuits and salty snacks after a late night? That’s because sleep deprivation prompts a preference for obesogenic foods, particularly those rich in carbohydrates and sugars, along with an increased desire for salty snacks. As if that’s not enough, sleep deprivation messes with your brain's control centre, making you more likely to give in to cravings and indulge in hedonic eating by amplifying dopaminergic areas.

A lack of adequate sleep also tricks your body into hoarding fat and breaking down muscle for energy instead. So, despite your best diet efforts, cutting corners on sleep could sabotage your weight loss goals. The bottom line? Prioritising a restful night's sleep not only helps us feel good, it helps maintain balanced appetite hormones and safeguards muscle mass, contributing to the attainment of a lean physique.

3. Improved Memory

Sleep plays a crucial role in memory consolidation, with distinct phases of the sleep cycle contributing to different aspects of this process. Have you ever tried to learn something new on minimal sleep? It just feels like the information won’t stick, right? Well, that’s because prior to learning, adequate sleep primes the brain, making you a ‘sponge’ ready to absorb all that new information. After learning, the brain engages in memory consolidation during deep sleep, solidifying and integrating fresh memories into the neural networks.

A study comparing individuals who had a full night of sleep to those who pulled an all-nighter revealed that sleep-deprived individuals showed no learning-related activity on an MRI scan compared to lots of healthy learning activity in the slept group, suggesting that sleep deprivation hinders the memory consolidation process.

Sleep does double duty, prepping your brain for new information and seamlessly merging it with your existing memories. So, if you're serious about remembering that important presentation or acing that exam, it's time to prioritise some quality shut-eye. After all, sleep isn't just for dreaming, it's for making memories stick.

4. Brain and Body Health

Ever wonder why they call it beauty sleep? Turns out, it's not just about looking good, it's about keeping your brain and body in tip-top shape. Picture this: while you're deep in dreamland, your brain's glymphatic system, or ‘slow wave sleep’, kicks into high gear, clearing out a whopping 40 percent of the amyloid-beta gunk that's linked to Alzheimer's disease. But here's the kicker: just one and a half days of sleep deprivation can jack up those amyloid levels by a staggering 25-30 percent.

Whilst activities like hitting the gym and loading up on omega-3s can give your glymphatic system a boost, but nothing beats good old-fashioned shut-eye, especially during that deep and rejuvenating slow-wave sleep phase. That's when your body goes into repair mode, fixing up all the wear and tear from the day. It's like hitting a reset button, ensuring we wake up refreshed and ready to face the day.

5. Mood Makeover

Have you ever felt more irritable, on edge and a little bit tense after a bad night's sleep? That’s because quality sleep plays a crucial role in influencing mood and emotional wellbeing, as highlighted in Walker's MRI study. It revealed that when you're sleep-deprived, your amygdala (the brain's emotion centre) goes into hyperactive mode, making you more prone to mood swings and irrational decisions. In fact, it becomes a whopping 60% more responsive, while the connection to your rational brain, the prefrontal cortex, weakens. Talk about a recipe for disaster!

Quality sleep emerges as a pivotal factor for keeping our emotions in check and making wise decisions. Expanding on Walker's findings, a comprehensive analysis of 65 trials involving 8,608 participants explored the effects of sleep on mental health outcomes. The results demonstrated significant positive impacts on overall mental health, depression, anxiety, and rumination. One interesting thing to note was that the better the quality of sleep, the bigger the boost in mental health.

How to get a good night sleep?

Shea Morrison, co-founder of The Good Night Co recommends starting with these three tips.

1. Waking up at the same time each day: By consistently waking up at the same time each morning you are creating a beautiful rhythm for your internal body clock which helps to regulate your production of melatonin (our sleep hormone). If you have inconsistent wake times your brain will get confused and start to release melatonin at weird hours, making it hard for you to fall asleep.
2. Taking small breaks throughout your day: Regulating and support your nervous system is important. If we are living in a state of constant stress throughout the day and we don’t shut down the stress response before going to sleep, then it will be almost impossible to fall asleep. Our heart rate needs to be under 60 to fall asleep and the way to achieve this is through relaxation. 
3. Create a sleep routine to induce the feelings of relaxation: This routine doesn’t have to take a lot of time, but by consistently repeating the same actions each night, your body will start to pick up on these cues and know that it is time to start the wind down process. For example having a warm magnesium bath, reading a real book and using sleep drops.

References 1. Walker, M. Why we sleep. Penguin Books. 2018 2. Besedovsky L, Lange T, Born J. Sleep and immune function. Pflugers Arch. 2012 Jan;463(1):121-37. 3. Garbarino S, Lanteri P, Bragazzi NL, Magnavita N, Scoditti E. Role of sleep deprivation in immune-related disease risk and outcomes. Commun Biol. 2021 Nov 18;4(1):1304. 4. Alexander J. Scott, Thomas L. Webb, Marrissa Martyn-St James, Georgina Rowse, Scott Weich, Improving sleep quality leads to better mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials, Sleep Medicine Reviews, 2021; 60