Why is sleep important?

Did you know that we spend 1/3 of our lives sleeping? We spend a lot of our time on this planet horizontally, but getting a good night’s sleep is often very underrated… “Let’s finish this email before we go to bed” “Let’s watch another episode” “Have I eaten yet?”. Yes, we hear it, and of course there’s nothing wrong with occasionally extending your waking hours. But did you also know that sleep is just as important as eating a healthy, balanced diet and exercising?

In this article, we'll show you how good quality sleep is related to better mental health, muscle growth, fat loss, productivity, and focus. We'll also present a checklist on how to improve your sleep quality and dive into the potential relevance of daytime naps. Finally, we'll discuss the relationship between sleep and Jimmy Joy (spoiler: he's romantic).

 

The importance of sleep (quality)

Today, for many people, sleep has become something of a luxury reserved for the lucky ones. Working full-time, while also taking care of family, friends, pets, and going out (to the gym), leaves little time for sleep. According to global data, none of the 48 countries that participated manage to average the recommended 8 hours of sleep per night [1]. This is a warning according to Dr. Michael J. Breus (Clinical Psychologist and Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine), as sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout our lives. However, he says it’s more about the quality of sleep, rather than the duration of sleep you need. “Some people can sleep seven hours a night, but the quality of their sleep is so poor that it’s as if they slept four hours a night. That's why it's important to know how much sleep your body needs [2]. Fortunately, there's a simple, free test to find out if you're getting enough sleep: Are you sleepy? Yes? Then you probably need more sleep. End of test [3].

 

Getting enough sleep at the right time for your body can help protect and improve your physical and mental health and even the quality of your entire life. No wonder… If you live, say, 75 years, that’s 25 years of sleep! The following chapters will show you how sleep can help you become your best self.

 

Sleep as the optimizer for better mental health

Sleep is essential for the brain. While we sleep, our brain is preparing for the next day and literally clearing or cleaning the mind [4]. Studies have shown that the brain is forming new pathways to help you learn and remember information. Whether you are learning how to skateboard, how to play the bamboo flute, or how NOT to kill your plants, sleep is the answer to improving your learning and problem-solving skills.

 

Some studies have also shown that sleep deficiency changes the activity in some parts of our brain. This is why you may find it difficult to make decisions, solve problems, control your emotions and behavior, and deal with change if you experience sleep deprivation [5].

Although the role of the brain in the relationship between sleep and mental health is still not fully understood. Neurochemistry studies assume that good quality sleep is essential to promote both mental and emotional resilience, while chronic sleep deprivation is thought to negatively affect mood and is linked to increased depressive feelings [6]. So… ready for that nap?

 

Sleep like the unsung hero of muscle growth and fat loss.

If there’s one facet of building muscle and losing fat that’s most underrated, it’s sleep for sure. It may be hard to believe, but sleep may be the reason why others seem to see results so much faster than you do. Findings from a study by the American College of Physicians, for example, showed that the group of people who slept 8.5 hours per night (which is within the range of what most experts recommend) lost 55% more fat and retained 60% more muscle on a reduced-calorie diet. The other group, who slept 5.5 hours per night (which is pretty standard for many people today) lost 55% less fat and 60% more muscle on a low-calorie diet [7].

While this study didn’t prove why exactly this was the case, a more recent study from 2018 makes it clearer. Researchers looked at the effects of one night of sleeplessness on 15 young men. After that night, signs of increased protein breakdown were already visible in their muscles and their fat tissue had elevated levels of proteins and metabolites involved in promoting fat storage [8]. Just one night!

 

A study by Wang et al. (2018) found even worse effects of sleep deprivation. According to this study, sleeping 40 minutes less during the week caused the ratio of lean to fat mass loss to change from a mere ~20% lean mass loss to ~80% lean mass loss. However, the reported ratios are incongruent with the absolute values ​​in the paper [9].

 

Sleep as a booster of productivity and concentration

What if there was a free cure to improve your productivity at work? Sleep could (surprise, surprise) be your answer again! (This is starting to sound like an ad.) Meet the # 1 productivity killer: Insufficient sleep. One study found that “work overload” could be the main driver of us not getting enough sleep because we’re working too hard. You could say that spending less time sleeping means getting more accomplished overall. However, when compared to worldwide statistics, this is clearly not the case, according to Sleep Cycle [10]. In fact, getting less sleep makes you feel less energetic and makes you react more slowly. Lack of sleep also negatively impacts your creativity, concentration, decision-making process, and your ability to solve problems. You’re also likely to miss out on some deep sleep when you’re not getting enough sleep overall. This has a similar effect to being drunk, and we all know how our productivity benefits from that… [12]. Overall, many studies indicate that consistent amounts of sleep before work are critical to improving performance and alertness in the workplace. According to the National Sleep Foundation, good quality sleep can even save you more than two weeks of work time per year [3].

 

How to sleep better?

We hear you thinking, "ok, ok, sounds great, but how the heck am I going to get better sleep? You're not alone. Nearly two-thirds of Americans report that their sleep needs are not met during a typical week [4].

That's why we made an expert-approved list of things you can do to wake up your "puppy sleep cells" so they experience more restful sleep. According to Lucey, MD, an instructor in the department of neurology at Washington University Sleep Medicine Center in St. Louis, Missouri, you can try the following things [4]:

Stick to a routine. It's important to wake up and go to bed at the same time every day, even on weekends. Sleep is a systematic process that our body regulates automatically. So don't mess with the system, or it will mess with you. This is not a threat, just a warning.

Create a bedtime ritual. Instead of finishing your emails or discussing big family issues right before bed, turn to more relaxing activities like cuddling with your furry friends (animal and human), taking a warm bath, meditating, or reading.

• Stick to a routine. It's important to wake up and go to bed at the same time every day, even on weekends. Sleep is a systematic process that our body regulates automatically. So don't mess with the system, or let it mess with you. This isn't a threat, just a warning.
• Create a bedtime ritual. Instead of finishing your emails or discussing big family issues right before bed, turn to more relaxing activities like cuddling with your furry friends (both animal and human), taking a warm bath, meditating, or reading.
• Turn off all screens. Yes, everything. Turn off all your electronic devices at least an hour before you go to bed. Some experts even recommend hiding your watch, too. "If you glance at your watch mid-sleep, you've gone from sleep to full wake-up, and you've made it harder to fall back asleep."
• Be mindful of what and when you eat. Avoid heavy meals, carbohydrates, and alcohol consumption right before bed. These can cause heartburn and make it difficult to fall asleep. Also, if you want to play it safe, avoid caffeinated soft drinks, tea, coffee, and chocolate after 3 p.m. Caffeine can stay in your system for hours.
• Turn off the lights. Darkness stimulates the body to release the natural sleep hormone melatonin, while sunlight suppresses it. Keeping your bedroom as dark as possible at night helps promote melatonin production and the onset of sleep.
• Avoid using sleeping pills for more than two weeks at a time because they can be addictive. And when you try to stop taking them, you will experience even more difficulty falling asleep.

If nothing really works and your sleep problems persist, it is recommended to keep a sleep diary to note the problems you are experiencing and when they occur. This can be a convenient tool when talking to your doctor.

 

And the naps?

There is some good news and bad news… The bad news: Naps don’t necessarily make up for inadequate or poor quality sleep at night, but the good news is that a short 20-30 minute nap can help improve mood, alertness, and performance. According to the National Sleep Foundation, research has shown that naps can improve alertness, increase performance, and decrease the number of errors and accidents. NASA conducted a study on sleepy military pilots and astronauts and found that a 40-minute nap even improved performance by 34% and alertness by 100% [12]. Napping may also have some cognitive benefits. It can give you the feeling of a mini vacation, and it’s an easy way to relax and rejuvenate.

 

On the other hand, naps can leave people with sleep inertia. You know that feeling of waking up in the middle of the day feeling groggy and disoriented? That's sleep inertia. Most of the time, this state only lasts a few minutes, but it can be disruptive for those who must act immediately after waking up from a nap period. Another negative side effect of a prolonged nap can be negatively affecting the quality of your nighttime sleep [12].

Still considering taking a nap? The results of a recent study in the research journal Sleep showed that a 10-minute nap produces the greatest benefit in terms of reducing sleepiness and improving mental performance.

Although naps can be easily incorporated into your daily routine, it is important to know that getting enough sleep on a regular basis is the best way to feel better. But when tiredness takes over your life, a quick nap can do wonders for your physical and mental health [13].

 

Dream and Jimmy Joy

Now that you've learned why sleep is essential for good overall health, you might also like to know how changes to your diet can promote your sleep quality. So, here's how some of our ingredients can help with good quality sleep.

All of our products contain Scandinavian oats. This whole grain is a “sleep promoter” as it is rich in complex carbohydrates and has been reported to induce drowsiness when consumed before bed. Additionally, oats are a good natural source of melatonin. This hormone is produced naturally in our bodies, but some studies suggest that melatonin production slows down in adulthood. Therefore, consuming melatonin from oats to help regulate the body’s internal clock may be a good way to compensate for this decline [14]. Oats also contain tryptophan. This amino acid is converted to serotonin in the brain, the “happiness hormone” that relaxes the body before falling asleep. Tryptophan is necessary for the brain to produce serotonin, getting enough of it is essential for good sleep and an overall feeling of well-being [15].

The bananas in our Plenny Banana smoothie are, in addition to a great source of tryptophan, also a good source of magnesium. Magnesium is known to help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer [16]. In addition, all of our servings already contain 20% of the recommended daily requirement of magnesium [17]. Studies have shown that maintaining healthy levels of magnesium often leads to deeper sleep. This mineral also supports deep sleep by maintaining healthy levels of GABA, a neurotransmitter that stimulates relaxation and promotes sleep [18] [19].

Nuts and fruits like whole tart cherries, oranges, and pineapple are also good sources of melatonin. According to the National Sleep Foundation, eating two kiwis before bed can even increase sleep duration by one hour over the course of a month when experiencing insomnia [20]. Antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables (such as berries, prunes, raisins, and plums) may also have a similar effect by helping to counteract oxidative stress caused by a sleep disorder. Therefore, incorporating these fruits into your Plenny Shake could even improve deeper sleep [21].

 

Finally, our products also contain a wide range of vitamins and minerals that help promote sleep. In addition to magnesium, vitamin D, also known as the “sunshine vitamin”) is thought to improve sleep duration and quality. Some studies suggest that vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increased risk of less sleep and sleep disorders [22] [23]. The mineral calcium , which strengthens bones and teeth, is also known to promote sleep , as it helps the brain use the amino acid tryptophan to make melatonin [24]. Research also suggests that good levels of vitamins B6 and B12 can also help one experience good sleep, as they help regulate the body’s level of the amino acid tryptophan [25].

If our ingredients are not convincing enough, you can always consume our products as a time-saving alternative to a regular meal to enjoy your (deep) sleep for an extended period of time. ;)

Note: More research is needed to draw definitive conclusions about diet and sleep, but existing results already look promising!

 

Sources

1. Sleep Cycle (2014). New Zealand got the most sleep of all countries.
2. Michael Breus [2012]. Your brain is asleep.
3. Sleep Foundation (2014). Lack of Sleep is Affecting Americans.
4. Amy Paturel (2014). The Benefits of Sleep for Brain Health.
5. Paula Alhola (2007). Sleep deprivation: Impact on cognitive performance.
6. Harvard Health (2019). Sleep and mental health.
7. Arlet V Nedeltcheva, et. to the. (2010). Insufficient Sleep Undermines Dietary Efforts to Reduce Adiposity.
8. Jonathan Cedernaes, et al. (2018). Acute sleep loss results in tissue-specific alterations in genome-wide DNA methylation state and metabolic fuel utilization in humans.
9. Wang, et al. (2018). Influence of Sleep Restriction on Weight Loss Outcomes Associated With Caloric Restriction.
10. Sleep Cycle (2020). Sleep Cycle Tracker.
11. Hannah K. Knudsen, et al. (2007). Job stress and poor sleep quality: Data from an American sample of full-time workers.
12. NASA Science (2005). NASA Naps.
13. Masaya Takahashi (2012). Prioritizing sleep for healthy work schedules.
14. Xiao Meng, et al. (2017). Dietary Sources and Bioactivities of Melatonin.
15. Judith J. Wurtman (2014). Chasing Away Insomnia With Oatmeal.
16. Dawn N. Richard, et al. (2009). L-Tryptophan: Basic Metabolic Functions, Behavioral Research and Therapeutic Indications.
17. Nutrition Data (2020). Bananas, raw.
18. Katja Held, et al. (2002). Oral Mg(2+) Supplementation Reverses Age-Related Neuroendocrine and Sleep EEG Changes in Humans.
19. Michael Breus (2017). Magnesium – How it affects your sleep.
20. Hsiao-Han Lin (2011). Effect of Kiwifruit Consumption on Sleep Quality in Adults With Sleep Problems.
21. Sleep Foundation (2019). Food and Drinks that promote good sleep.
22. Qi Gao, et al. (2018). The Association between Vitamin D Deficiency and Sleep Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
23. Greta Sahakyan (2018). The role of Vitamin D in treatment of Chronic Insomnia with Melatonin (P5.320).
24. Yawen Zeng (2014). Strategies of Functional Foods Promote Sleep in Human Being.
25. Kenneth L. Lichstein. (2009). Vitamins and Sleep: An Exploratory Study.