The ethos of “The American Dream” seems slightly ironic given that over a third of the American population suffers from sleep deprivation and 40% get less than 6 hours sleep a night. This lack of sleep can have detrimental effects on a number of things, for one, the risk of children developing type two diabetes increases for every hour of sleep below the recommended amount. But there are some other surprising things your lack of sleep might be causing, read on to find out what could change in your life when you learn to sleep better.

Your Sex Life

Perhaps its makes sense that sleep and sex are related as they generally transpire in the same place, your bed, but it might not be so obvious that lack of sleep could be bringing down your libido. Research actually shows that women who slept for as little as an hour longer were more likely to desire sex the following night, and feeding into this, occurrence of an orgasm can hep induce better sleep, generating a positive feedback cycle.

Tip 1: Replace your mattress. A great mattress will offer you the correct support that you need depending on your size and your sleeping position, reducing the likelihood of nagging aches and pains, relieving pressure on your joints and spine and allowing you to drop off with ease.

Your Success

You probably feel the effects of poor sleep when you wake up all grumpy and agitated, but it’s effects go further than that. When you’re not well rested your likelihood of making a mistake does up which could result in bad work or even a road accident. Your memory and attention are also affected which can impact your work in the short term, but also have a wider impact on your career and prevent success and progression.

Tip 2: Meditation can be an excellent method to help clear your mind of stresses and relax you enough to fall asleep. Meditation comes in many forms, even taking a relaxing bath or indulging in another mundane ritual, so investigate until you find something that works for you. 

Your Health

We’ve already mentioned that lack of sleep can increase the likelihood of acquiring certain diseases such as diabetes and heart conditions, it can impact your immune system and make you more likely to gain weight, and can affect your mental health, too, increasing the risk episodes of anxiety and depression.

Tip 3: The benefits of engaging in exercise can be tenfold, since exercise releases endorphins that can help stabilise your mental health, it also encourages weight loss and boosts your immune system, among others, but most importantly it can actually help you to sleep better, which in turn, helps your body regulate all these things.

Following these simple tips to help yourself sleep better may help improve these areas of your life, boosting your relationships, career success health, and much more.