You can’t be healthy, or expect your gut symptoms to improve, if you aren’t getting sufficient, high-quality sleep.
According to Dr. Ruscio’s book, Healthy Gut Healthy You, poor sleep is correlated with gut damage, including an imbalance of gut bacteria. The opposite is also true: poor gut health can lead to inadequate quality sleep. Like asking which came first, the chicken or the egg, it may be next to impossible to know which came first, poor sleep or poor gut health. The bottom line is taking care of your gut may improve your sleep and improving your sleep may help alleviate your gut symptoms.
It’s not just your gut that is affected by poor sleep.
Lack of sleep has been shown to increase the risk of developing diabetes, heart disease and autoimmune issue disease and reduced cognitive performance.
It can be hard to prioritize sleep.
We seem to be getting busier by the day, with ever more demands and distractions. In an effort to find more time in the day, oftentimes sleep ends up on the chopping block. But sleep is just as important, if not more important, than eating a healthy diet, managing stress, and getting enough movement during the day. It is a key pillar of health. One of the best things you can do for your health is prioritize a high-quality night’s sleep.
How do I know if I’m getting enough, high-quality sleep?
Most people think if they are getting 7-9 hours of sleep, that’s enough. And that’s a great place to start. But there is more to sleep than duration.
Ask yourself the following questions, and if you answered ‘no’ to any of them, you may want to use some of the tips below to optimize your sleep.
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Are you asleep for 7-9 hours/night? (And that doesn’t mean 7-9 hours in your bed, that means 7-9 hours of actual sleep!)
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Are you able to fall asleep easily?
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Are you able to stay asleep throughout the night?
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Do you wake-up rested?
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Do you feel rested throughout the day?