★ The Popular Morning Habit That's Making You Tired
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The Popular Morning Habit That’s Making You Tired
That sudden heaviness isn’t rest calling - it’s your cells waving a white flag. When energy turns corrosive, your brain pulls the plug, forcing darkness to stop the leak. Sleep isn’t luxury. It’s lockdown.
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Low levels of cortisol are necessary for the proper functioning of the immune and reproductive systems; high levels of this stress hormone can be detrimental to health.
Cortisol typically rises in the morning and then decreases throughout the day. However, many people maintain chronically high cortisol levels. Chronically elevated cortisol levels are associated with various health consequences, including depression, insomnia, blood sugar imbalances, and high blood pressure. Elevated cortisol levels have also been linked to increased visceral fat (the fat surrounding vital organs), decreased bone density, and memory problems.
Cortisol levels typically rise in the morning and then decrease throughout the day. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13679-018-0306-y .--
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8584322/ -
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4465119/ — Garlic is a natural antibiotic, antiviral, and antifungal. When chopped or crushed, it releases an amino acid called allicin, which has been shown to regulate blood pressure, reduce cholesterol levels, and even relieve muscle pain. Regarding stress, researchers have found that both raw and low-temperature ripened garlic activate neuroprotective effects and significantly reduce levels of stress-related hormones, including cortisol.
https://journals.lww.com/jcma/Fulltext/2019/03000/Low_temperature_aged_garlic_extract_suppresses.7.aspx .--
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00421-008-0699-5
REM and non-REM sleep cycles are essential for different biological functions:
---Non-REM sleep is related to physical repair and the elimination of brain toxins.
---REM sleep, on the other hand, strengthens neural connections, fosters creativity, improves learning, and regulates emotions.
Sleeping well not only helps us feel rested but also reduces the risk of chronic diseases such as Alzheimer's, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer.
We have between 4-5 complete sleep cycles in a night of 8-9 hours of sleep. A complete sleep cycle consists of four non-REM phases and one REM phase. To achieve REM sleep during a nap, we need to complete the entire cycle, which lasts about 90 minutes. A 90-minute nap allows the body to enter all stages of sleep, including REM and deep slow-wave sleep. This helps clear the mind, improve memory recall, and restore lost sleep; however, this type of nap cannot replace the necessary 8-9 hours of restorative nighttime sleep. According to Dr. Derk-jan Dijk of the Sleep Research Centre at the University of Surrey (UK), it is increasingly clear that the combination of REM and non-REM sleep benefits our mental and memory abilities.
Stages of Sleep and Sleep Cycles. https://www.tuck.com/stages/ ---------------------- A study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism in 2015 found that 30-minute naps can counteract the hormonal effects of a sleepless night. If the nap lasts up to 30 minutes, the body enters what is known as stage II sleep. If the nap does not exceed 30 minutes, it can prevent grogginess or interference with nighttime sleep. Extending the nap to 90 minutes is a solution if you slept poorly at night.
Napping Reverses the Salivary Interleukin-6 and Urinary Norepinephrine Changes Induced by Sleep Restriction. http://press.endocrine.org/doi/10.1210/jc.2014-2566