How Sleep affects your Happiness

Sleep and happiness are intimately linked. A study conducted by scientists at the University of Warwick (UK) even suggested that improving sleep quality can make us as happy as winning the lottery! Sounds crazy doesn't it? That might sound exaggerated, but no one can deny that a lack of sleep affects our mood considerably. The WHO recommends between 7 or 8 hours sleep per day. Are you getting enough rest and rejuvenation from your sleep?

 “Happiness consists in getting enough sleep. Just that, nothing more”  Robert A Heinlen.

You probably have gotten up some days when it seems that the weight of the world is simply heavier than normal! Don't worry, we have all experienced that. It is so important to provide your mind and body with the best conditions for sleep. Even on days that you feel you have so much to do and don’t even have time to sneeze, give yourself the gift of sleep and your body, work and relationships with thank you for it. As the famous quote from the American novelist Robert A Heinlein says : “ Happiness consists in getting enough sleep. Just that, nothing more”.

Fall in love with sleep again

Undoubtedly, we can't always control the quality of our sleep and many factors can prevent us from getting 8 hours of quality sleep: insomnia, apnea and everyday stress related concerns.

Our goal at Kocoono™ is to help increase the quality and quantity of your sleep which will help you to fall in love with your sleep once again. We will provide the tools and tips to fight all these obstacles.  But first of all,  we think that it is important to provide you with the science behind how a good night's sleep affects your happiness. Understanding how our sleep impacts all aspects of our lives can motivate us to prioritize a good night sleep which in turn can increase our happiness. And who doesn't want more happiness?! 

The science behind how sleep affects our happiness

 The amygdala is the emotional center of the brain. It plays a key role in the perception of emotions especially in anger and fear, affecting our immediate emotional reactions. 

 On the other hand,  the prefrontal cortex is involved in the higher cognitive functions of our brain such as attention, memory or flexibility. It is involved in things like holding conversations, reasoning, self-monitoring and time management.

When we have a quality night's sleep, the prefrontal cortex keeps the amygdala in check. On the contrary, when our brain is not rested we release stress hormones that weaken the influence of the prefrontal cortex while strengthening the dominance of the amygdala. In other words, the amygdala wins over the prefrontal cortex and you find it hard to process your feelings and to produce balanced responses. This will translate into reactive responses, bad mood and the incapacity of processing feelings in a healthy and happy way.

Pay attention to how sleep affects our different vital areas and how we behave in the same situation depending on how much we have slept:

Immune system

“How did I get sick? How is it possible if I have a healthy and balanced diet, wash my hands frequently and play sports?!”

You might have asked those questions to yourself every winter when you got a cold. However, even if you have a healthy diet, exercise and good hygiene practices, it is not enough if you are not taking care of your sleep quality. This last  factor is the best medicine to have a strong immune system.

The immune system uses sleep time to regenerate itself, allowing it to effectively fight toxins and germs that continually threaten us. 

With a weak immune system we have much less chance of successfully overcoming infections. Prioritizing sleep quality is super important now to boost your immune system, which is especially important now with the COVID-19 pandemic. Nothing better than having a good night's sleep to keep healthy and consequently happy!

Relationships

It's Saturday morning, the weekend is here! Finally you have the time to calmly read your book, play your favorite sport, meditate or have a nap beside your pet! You are determined to share your positivism and start with high energy in the morning by preparing breakfast and sharing it in bed with your partner. What a great idea! 

You start your day with your best intentions, but things turn out completely different! You find that your lovely partner became a grumpy ogre complaining about the rain outside and a hundred other things. Any plans for the weekend seem to not suit your better half whose responses are quite irascible. You might recognize that this stress and irritability can be the symptoms of a bad night's sleep. 

These situations are more common than you think and even Science has specifically studied the relationship between sleep quality and happiness in relationships. A study conducted by the American Psychological Association and published by the magazine Psychology Today determined that people who do not rest satisfactorily are more likely to not get along with their partners.

We all are more likely to have patience, good communication and positive feelings towards our environment when we are well rested. 

If, together you take steps to promote a good sleep environment and good sleep hygiene practices (implementing the Kocoono™ Wellness Toolkit will help) you are both more likely to feel the benefits and keep those ogres at bay!! The world will be a better place!

Work Productivity

Your productivity at work is directly connected to your level of happiness. If you love what you do, everything will run smoothly. As HowardThruman said in a quote : “ The world needs people who love what they do”. 

But even if you love what you do, sleep deficit can play a huge decisive factor between a productive day and one full of distractions. This is indicated by an investigation of the University of South Florida, United States, published in the journal Sleep Health.

“Those who sleep well can perform better at work, thanks to the greater ability to stay focused, with fewer errors and interpersonal conflicts”, the studio added.

As it was explained above, our prefrontal cortex is involved in the higher cognitive brain functions such as attention, memory, solving problem skills or flexibility. All of these are key factors for being productive at work.

The best we can do is to let our brain rest properly to increase our happiness and consequently put the best of ourselves in our daily tasks at work. 

Kocoono™ can help

We can have the best of intentions with our sleep habits however it does not always result in achieving the recommended 8 hours of sleep but sure we all need a bit of help sometimes! 

If you or any of your family members have trouble sleeping, or simply if you are looking for extra relaxation,  we invite you to have a look at www.kocoono.com to learn more about our products that we have designed for you to help you fall in love with sleep again.

All the team at Kocoono™ HQ hope that you have enjoyed learning a bit more about how sleep plays a key role in our lives. We invite you to follow our upcoming posts where we will give you the tools and tips to improve your sleep and life. 

An investment in your sleep can be an investment in your overall health and happiness.  

Sweet dreams 💤

Team Kocoono™