How often do you think about the way that you sleep? It might not be something we think about daily but sleep is very important. In this blog, we are going to look at why sleep is important and how to create and use a sleep tracker in your bullet journal.
4 reasons sleep is important
We need sleep to function and operate. Even if we have trouble sleeping eventually our bodies will give in and sleep because it’s essential. Ideally of course we would all sleep perfectly every night but this is not always the case. Let’s look at 4 reasons why sleep is important.
Keep reading for sleeping tips
1 – Poor sleep is linked to higher body weight
Weight gain leads to poor sleep and poor sleep is linked to weight gain. The moral of this story, the key to maintaining a healthy body weight (whatever that may look like to you) is that you need to be sleeping well!
Experts have said that if you are carrying too much weight or have recently put on weight, you will notice that the quality of your sleep decreases. This could be because you have more issues with things like breathing which can wake you up during the night.
Poor sleep however also leads to weight gain. The less you sleep, the hungrier you are during the day and the more you eat. Sleep reduction has a negative impact on your metabolism. The hormones, ghrelin and leptin both regulate hunger. If you are experiencing bad sleep, you could be overproducing these hormones.
- Bad sleep will lead to you craving more calorie-rich foods like carbohydrates.
- Lack of sleep leads to fatigue which can affect your physical activity.
2 – Good sleep can improve concentration and productivity
Would you like to be more productive? Well then get more sleep!
Good sleep helps your brain function. That is why we normally do our best work in the morning. By the end of the day, our brain is tired! Sleep helps cognition, concentration, productivity and performance.
So next time you are tossing up if you should keep working late or get a good nights sleep, pick sleep!
3 – Good sleep can maximise your athletic performance
Good sleep gives you more energy which means it can improve your level of athleticism. It also allows your muscles more time to rest and recover which means you can get up and go (if you are an early morning exerciser).
Even if you would not consider yourself an athlete. Good sleep can simply give you that energy boost you need to get up and go for a walk. Every little healthy change can benefit your overall health.
Poor sleep puts you at a greater risk of heart disease and strokes. It can also affect your glucose metabolism and has strong links to type 2 diabetes.
Grumpy, is what you are if you do not get enough sleep! So that you do not have to ride a wild roller coaster of emotions, it is important to get enough sleep. Negative emotions like sadness, grumpiness and anger are all more prevalent when you have not had enough shut-eye. So if you are feeling any of these emotions (which are very normal) take a long hard look at your sleep pattern and see what you can do to improve it.
bullet journaling your way to better sleep.
The video above shows you how I made a sleep tracker in my bullet journal. The spread itself is very easy for you to re-create at home.
Tracking your sleep is a habit but is one that is worthwhile keeping up. I find it so helpful to take a moment to think about the mood I am in. Then I reflect on whether my sleep the night before has anything to do with it.
I wanted to show you some of my favourite sleep trackers made by other creatives. Keep reading for some sleep tracker inspiration.
sleep tracker BULLET JOURNAL inspiration
This sleep tracker is so simple. The use of ‘same tone’ highlighters makes it easy to read and easy to update each day.
If you have some artistic flair this could be the tracker for you. I think this is such a great idea and love the use of colour coding. This sleep tracker would look so pretty in your Bullet Journal.
Head in the clouds..
This sleep tracker is so pretty and perfect for any bullet journal theme. It gives me beach vibes and makes me want to go and find a hammock to sleep in!
Get some zzzzz…
Did you love this blog? Let us know in the comments! Make sure you are getting the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep per night.
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