Happiness and Sleep
What if we told you that you could start working towards a happier, healthier and more positive life tonight? All it requires is your bed and a little discipline. We’ve already discussed the negative effects of not getting enough sleep, a feeling many of us are familiar with. When you miss those precious hours of shut eye, it’s likely your day is highlighted with lots of crankiness, irritability, fatigue and moodiness. Sleep is necessary for the proper functioning of our brains so the moment you prevent your brain from doing what it needs to do in terms of processing and repairs, you’ll start to see the negative effects. Studies from the University of Pennsylvania have shown that subjects who were only allowed to sleep 4.5 hours a night for over a week reported higher levels of feeling stressed, sad, mentally exhausted and actually angry. Sleep and mood are deeply correlated and we believe that to lead a happier life, you need to sleep better.
Being in the pyjama and sleepwear business, we are incredibly passionate about getting a good night’s sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation in the United States, the average adult needs seven to nine hours of sleep a night. Each person is different but anything less than seven hours is considered to be problematic. Sleep deprivation has been linked to psychological disorders like anxiety and depression along with physical effects like obesity and high blood pressure. One study at UC Berkeley found that being sleep deprived made participants more likely to react to images negatively, thereby feeling stronger negative thoughts. The key to happiness lies in our own minds and not sleeping enough can seriously hamper this!
When asked to describe happiness levels, researchers found that having slept well and being well-rested is highly correlated to overall happiness. When something like one less hour of sleep can ruin your mood for one day, imagine what happens when you do this every single night? The moment people start sleeping enough, they feel happier and more positive- and who doesn’t want that? It can also be said that being anxious or upset leads to poor sleep whereas poor sleep also leads to those negative feelings which makes this one big vicious circle.
The amygdala is the emotional centre of the brain, the area which will ignite your flight or fight response for example. This is where all your stress and anger comes from, those really base, physical emotions. When you are well-rested, the other parts of your brain that regulate the amyglada are able to work better and thereby keep all your primitive emotions like fear and anxiety in check. The minute your brain is sleep deprived, the amyglada will start running amok! In today’s day and age, staying positive is incredibly important and a method of self-preservation. Being the producers of high quality sleepwear, we can tell you that sleep is something you can’t take lightly. Try to get good quality sleep for at least seven hours a night and watch your life change day by day! Oh, and get a pair of Dandelion Pyjamas so you look good while doing it.
