Health Hazards of Bad Sleep & Which Foods Can Bring on the Zzzz's

The importance of sleep as part of a healthy lifestyle cannot be underestimated.  The medical facts are now showing that chronic lack of enough sleep increases the risk of many health problems, including:

Heart disease, diabetes, memory lapse, obesity, stroke, low sex drive, skin aging, substance abuse, impaired judgement, depression and psychiatric illness—even cancer, according to medical studies. (See veganamericanprincess.com for links to informative articles regarding the medical evidence.)

That’s quite a scary and comprehensive list. Many of these diseases will strike at the end of many years of inadequate sleep habits and when they do, unfortunately, you may not think about years of lost sleep as being a contributing factor.  Does your doctor ask you what the quality of your sleep is, unless you come to him for that reason? If you eat healthily and exercise regularly, your inadequate sleeping habits could be undoing some of the good you’re doing with a healthy lifestyle. 

If 7-8 hours is considered a good night’s sleep, how many of us routinely only get 5 or 6? Or is your conscious attempt at a 7 hour’s night of sleep thwarted by waking up in the middle of the night or restless tossing and turning? The ironic part of it is that everyone seems to love a great night’s sleep but busy schedules, bad habits, aches & pains, your to-do list, family and work life and just wanting to watch one more rerun of “Friends” (not saying who that is) has turned us into night owls and it’s apparently very harmful! 

Since I don’t sleep well about half the time, I wanted to learn whether there are any natural foods that could help, beyond having chamomile tea before bed.  I found that there are several and one perfect evening snack that brings on the zzzz's: - Read more at: http://veganamericanprincess.com/health-hazards-of-bad-sleep-how-certain-foods-can-help/#sthash.FMFB... 

Ellen Francis

Vegan American Princess

Voted #2 in Skinny Scoop's Top 25 Vegan Blogs of 2013

Website: veganamericanprincess.com

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