Maintaining a Schedule During Chaos is Important

There’s no doubt that COVID-19 has caused some serious disruption to most people’s lives, and it’s not much of an exaggeration to say that a great deal of chaos has resulted in the business world and throughout society. Maintaining a schedule during this chaos is even more important now, especially things like going to bed at a normal time and waking up at a normal time. Good sleep habits are essential for helping your immune system stay strong, and helping you resist the virus.

 

If you’re a parent, you should do everything you can to ensure your children get adequate sleep.  It can have a major impact on their health. Inadequate sleep can lead to weight or obesity issues.  When people don’t get enough sleep, the body manufactures more ghrelin, which is a hormone that makes you feel hungry, and it also produces less leptin, which is a hormone that helps you control your appetite. 

People who have sleep apnea are especially at risk for developing other health issues, such as high blood pressure and heart-related problems like stroke and heart attack. When you don’t get enough sleep, your blood pressure remains higher for longer periods of time, which can have a cumulative effect on your body, and lead to other problems. Sleep apnea interferes with the body’s ability to have a good night’s sleep because it interrupts your breathing, waking you constantly so you don’t sleep well.

Even if you don’t have children, you should maintain a good sleep schedule, even while the chaos of coronavirus swirls around you. Research shows a link between inadequate sleep and various forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s Disease. During sleep, your brain works to remove amyloid proteins which would otherwise build up. If these proteins are allowed to accumulate, they can harden into plaque, which interferes with normal brain cell function. When brain cell function is disrupted, one of the possible results becomes dementia, which is not a reversible condition.

 

If you do not get adequate sleep at night, you probably won’t be able to cope with the additional stresses placed on your life by the coronavirus pandemic, and you may be degrading your overall health. Contact us at the Breathing and Sleep Center in Colorado Springs to discuss what may be interfering with your sleep.