The habit you really must prioritize if you want to be healthy

Physical activity and nutrition seem to be the pillars for a healthy life. It is not about extremes, but about prioritizing what really contributes to the body, with a little of the things that we like the most. 

But in the face of so many dieting possibilities, the problems of modern life, it’s easy to wonder if there is another way to stay healthy, even if I can’t eat as healthy or exercise as much as I want.

And yes, there is such a habit, but sometimes it seems just as difficult to achieve. For this habit there is no supplement or exercise that can replace it.

According to science, sleep is the key to success. Being rested not only allows you to perform more or be in a better mood. There are other health benefits if you regularly rest a good number of hours at night. 

Helps you manage pain

According to a study by the University of Berkeley, the hours of sleep allow your brain to be less sensitive to the pain stimuli that it can receive. In this work it was compared with the pain medication work. 

It could improve your response to the coronavirus vaccine

With the concern that the body’s response to the new coronavirus vaccine provokes , the best thing that newly immunized people can do is not to go out to celebrate their immunity, but to rest. 

It has already been proven that the quantity and quality of sleep directly affect the immune system, and therefore the response to injections. Previously, the response to flu vaccines was investigated and it was found that sleeping 4 hours for 6 days caused people to have fewer antibodies than others. 

Learning

All the nights you ‘passed by’ may have done more harm than good. It is that sleeping allows to improve the learning process.

Dementia

Being a constantly working organ, the brain eliminates substances like garbage on a regular basis. These accumulate during the day, but during the night, the body “takes out the garbage.” If you reduce the hours you sleep, you take time away from the process. 

According to a study, this could have long-term sequelae and increase the chances of suffering from diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Recovery 

Athletes, athletes, and people who exercise regularly require sleep for their body to recover. The same happens after surgery, it is the window of time that the body has to regulate internal activity.

Recently a study was published that found that only one night is sleep decreases the levels of protein synthesis by 18%. Also, cortisol drops by 21% and testosterone by 24%.

Hormones

While we sleep our body has time to regulate hormones. These mainly affect hunger and testosterone, so it partly affects sexual desire.

A study showed that in young, healthy men, sleeping for just 5 hours a night lowered the levels of testosterone they produce by 10-15%.

Insulin resistance

Losing just a couple of hours of sleep could ruin your sensitivity to this hormone. According to a study with people with diabetes 1, with less sleep the sensitivities are increased.