How many times has a friend or coworker boasted about pulling an “all-nighter” while working on a project, school assignment, or binging their favorite series on Netflix? In a world where pushing yourself to the limit is celebrated, sleep deprivation is worn like a badge of honor.
But that’s a problem. As a society, we must prioritize quality rest if we want to move on from sleep deprivation’s health-shattering effects.
Last week, we discussed 3 unexpected reasons why you can’t sleep. But does sleep really matter that much? In this blog, we reveal three shocking effects lack of sleep has on your health and explain why The Hache Protocol for Pain Resolution™ provides a realistic solution to this wide-spread problem.
The Top 3 Surprising Effects Sleep Deprivation Has on Your Health
1. Poor Immune Function
If you’ve ever gotten a sore throat after staying up too late, you may be wondering, “does lack of sleep make you sick?” According to one study conducted in 2017, the answer is a resounding “yes.” In the study, researchers took blood samples from 11 sets of identical twins with different sleep patterns. It was found that the twin that slept for a shorter period each night experienced a depressed immune system when compared to their sibling who slept longer.
Why is this? When you miss out on the 7-9 hours of sleep you need, your body cannot produce the antibodies and cytokines it needs to support your immune system. Without these essential infection-fighting substances, you’re leaving yourself more susceptible to viruses and bacterial infections.
According to a paper published in the Berkley Scientific Journal, poor sleep also leads to elevated cortisol levels (the stress hormone associated with decreased immune response).
When you live with elevated cortisol levels for an extended period, it becomes almost impossible to repair because your brain changes due to the sleep you miss, like a buildup of debt (more on that later).
2. Inflammation Flare-Ups
Sleep deprivation adds fuel to the fire of inflammation, contributing to unnecessary pain and poor health outcomes. This is because quality sleep keeps your cardiovascular system healthy and functioning as it should. A meta-analysis in 2017 found that insomnia was linked to other serious cardiovascular issues like stroke and heart disease.
Inflammation also interferes with your sleep cycle—keeping you up at night.
The result? A vicious cycle of poor sleep and inflammation leads to pain, leading to even more disrupted sleep cycles.
3. Depression, Anxiety, and Central Nervous System Disorders
Did you know that people who have trouble sleeping are ten times as likely to have a depression diagnosis in their lifetime and are seventeen times more likely to suffer from an anxiety disorder?
Chronic sleep deprivation can disrupt your central nervous system’s communication and neural pathways, which decreases coordination, mixes up signals in your brain, and makes it difficult to remember things.
Frustrating, right? That may be the precise reason why a large portion of insomniacs report debilitating side-effects like depression, anxiety, hallucinations, paranoia, and even suicidal thoughts.
Your body and mind need you to rest and recharge to function optimally. If you find yourself having symptoms of rapidly shifting mental health capacity due to insomnia, please reach out to a professional counselor to get the support you need to get back on track.
Sleep as a Line of Credit—It’s Time to Pay Down Your Sleep Debt
In The Hache Protocol for Pain Resolution ™, we like to think of sleep as a line of credit. Each time you withdraw from it, you will need to pay that amount back or suffer the consequences of interest. In the case of sleep debt, interest owed is almost always a toll on your health.
Let’s look at how you can use the interactive elements of The Hache Protocol: stress reduction, nutrition, physical fitness, and microcurrent to achieve healing sleep starting tonight.
4 Ways The Hache Protocol can Help You Achieve Healing Sleep
1. Stress Reduction for Better Sleep
To sleep well, you need to cut out the stress in your life. But getting rid of the toxic effects of stress is easier said than done for many of us.
We suggest starting with meditation, grounding, and limiting EMF exposure in your home as some simple first steps to getting stress under wraps.
Another way to reduce stress around sleeping? Establishing a sleep schedule. There’s a reason why children require a very specific bedtime. A sleep schedule helps to establish a routine that your body will eventually anticipate and benefit from. Unplug the electronics one hour before your established bedtime and allow your body to wind down naturally. You’ll be surprised at how effective this simple strategy can be!
2. Nutrition for Better Sleep
We recently discussed how your diet impacts sleep patterns in our blog, 3 Unexpected Reasons Why You Can’t Sleep. In short, it’s essential to stay away from spicy, sugary, and fatty foods before bed so that you aren’t kept up by indigestion, acid reflux, and dreaded blood sugar spikes.
When you eat a well-balanced and clean diet throughout the day, your body will start to function as it should when it comes to achieving restorative sleep. If you still have trouble sleeping after cleaning up your diet, try a natural sleep-inducing tea. Herbal teas are natural, drug-free, and won’t create a dependency loop.
3. Physical Fitness for Better Sleep
Exercise causes stress hormones (like cortisol) to drop for hours after your workout. The result? Better quality sleep each night.
When we talk about physical fitness and exercise, we’re not suggesting you go out and participate in an Iron Man competition. We’re talking about getting your body moving each day, if only for 5 or 10 minutes. Once you get used to your new exercise routine—and see the benefits it provides for your sleep routine—you may even crave it.
For some practical and gentle exercises that will help promote better rest, check out our blog: 8 Exercises for People in Pain.
4. Simple Microcurrent Protocols for Better Sleep
Microcurrent therapy is “the secret sauce” to the Hache Protocol, tying all the other elements together.
Try one of these microcurrent protocols if sleep alludes you and see the difference it makes in your overall health and healing:
Vagus Nerve Stimulation- The Vagus nerve oversees your body’s stress response. By stimulating this critical neural highway with a microcurrent device like the Avazzia Life Evolution or the Avazzia Pro Sport III, you can finally find relief from sleep induced central nervous system disorders like depression, anxiety, and undue stress.
To learn more about Vagus nerve stimulation and how it can help you counteract the side-effects of poor sleep, read our blog: Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Inflammation.
Conductive Ear Clips–Conductive Ear Clips deliver the essential algorithms for relaxation and quality sleep through your earlobes. Ear Clips work so well before bedtime because they calm the peripheral nervous system and stimulate reflexology points, triggering a body-wide soothing effect. If you’re looking to use microcurrent therapy to promote deep, healing sleep—give Conductive Ear Clips a try as soon as you can.
We’re Here to Help You Get Your Sleep Back on Track
As we discussed, sleep deprivation leads to an increase in the inflammatory response, poor immune function, and mental health issues—eventually digging you into a hole that difficult to climb out of.
The good news is you can start correcting unhealthy sleep habits today. The sooner you get started, the sooner you can start feeling better.
If you’d like a comprehensive method to promoting restorative sleep, try the Hache Protocol for Pain Resolution. The Hache Protocol’s interactive elements have helped thousands of people benefit from the healing quality of sleep.
And, if you’re currently experiencing sleep deprivation symptoms that have not yet progressed to the point of pain and illness, a Hache Protocol Private Membership is one of the most powerful things you can do to prevent coming down with a debilitating and painful condition.
With your membership, you’ll instantly receive access to natural, drug-free sleeping solutions that will ensure you wake up each morning feeling restored, rejuvenated, and healthier than ever.