The cornerstone.

Sleep is often sacrificed in service of other pursuits-a job deadline, a sick child, a Netflix binge. People boast about being able to function on “only _ hours of sleep”. But we couldn’t be more wrong.

Until you prioritize sleep, your efforts to feel energized, start exercising, or decrease your tendency to stress out are likely being sabotaged. Sleep gives your brain a chance to “repair and reset”. Think about how often IT tells you the fix is just to restart the computer? Imagine if your brain needing the same shutdown and reset each night to function optimally.

Specifically, it is during sleep that you reinforce new learned concepts, prune unnecessary information, and process emotions. The brain has its own “cleaning crew” (the glymphatic system) that works while you sleep.

As an ENT, I see a lot of obstructive sleep apnea (a condition where collapse of throat tissue obstructs airflow leading to lowered oxygen levels in your blood and frequent waking interrupting sleep)…but I see just as much insufficient sleep syndrome, insomnia secondary to lifestyle habits and overuse of inappropriate sleep aids.

An area of discussion ripe for an integrative approach, a good night’s sleep is waiting for you.