Learn How to Sleep Like a Baby
Lessons Learned from Newly Published Data
How to Ignite Your Vitality Podcast
Today’s post is a rapid review about why sleep is crucial to your vitality and how to optimize it. The goal of this new feature is keep Vitality Explorer readers informed about fundamentally important topics.
Here are some bullet points from a paper about how sleep and your ability to fight off disease are connected:
Your immune system gets activated when your get sick and this increases your need for restorative sleep. Sleeping better when you are sick helps clear pathogens like bacteria and viruses from your body.
Sleep disruption can lead to systemic inflammation. This contributes to a variety of metabolic, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative diseases.
Enhancing sleep quality could help us fight chronic diseases and improve overall health outcomes. (See graphic below for details from the paper)
Sleeping during college is challenging but crucial for physical and mental well-being. Sleep is also important for students who want to excel academically. Sleep quality is connected to a variety of modifiable parameters including physical exercise, health literacy and peer support. (See Graphic Below)
Here are some specific findings from a newly published report about sleep during college:
Peer support significantly improves sleep quality among college students. It helps to alleviate stress and creating a sense of belonging. This promotes better sleep patterns.
A supportive physical exercise atmosphere mediates the relationship between peer support and sleep quality. Positive peer relationships foster a conducive environment for engaging in physical activities, which, in turn, improve sleep quality.
The ability to digest and understand health information on the internet strengthens the influence of peer support and physical exercise on sleep quality. Students with higher electronic health literacy are better equipped to use health information, which encourages healthy behaviors, including regular exercise and improved sleep.
The paper concluded that universities should focus on fostering better sleep for their student using tailored interventions, such as better health education and encouraging participation in exercise programs.
Finally, here is one specific actionable way to improve your sleep based on a randomized controlled trial:
“Fifteen days of chamomile oil inhalation ( for ten minutes) before bedtime reduced insomnia severity and enhanced the quality of sleep for young adults suffering from insomnia.”
Chamomile Oil and Flower “Chamomile is an herb with small, daisy-like flowers consumed by people across the world to improve health, including sleep.”
“Chamomile is considered to be a mild sedative or tranquilizer, which means it may relax the nervous system and promote sleep.”
“A meta-analysis of 12 randomized, controlled trials found that chamomile improved sleep quality.”
I hope you have enjoyed this rapid review of the most recent scientific data about sleep. Please share this with someone today to enhance their sleep and vitality.
Please also post your comments below about what you found useful or how I can improve Vitality Explorers.
How to Ignite Your Vitality Podcast
References:
Sleep and Immune System Crosstalk: Implications for Inflammatory Homeostasis and Disease Pathogenesis. Singh et al 2024. DOI: 10.1177/09727531241275347
The relationship between peer support and sleep quality among Chinese college students: the mediating role of physical exercise atmosphere and the moderating effect of eHealth literacy. Li 2024. DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1422026
Effects of chamomile oil inhalation on sleep quality in young adults with insomnia: A randomized controlled trial. Deepa et al 2024 10.1177/00912174241301279
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-aids/does-chamomile-tea-make-you-sleep#references-259217