SLEEP-GREAT is a complete formulation that helps you fall asleep quickly, stay asleep and achieve deep, restful sleep.
Do you wake up feeling well-rested every day? You should! However, 43% of men and 55% of women report trouble with falling asleep or staying asleep1. We know how great it feels to fall asleep easily, get a deep and restful sleep, and wake up feeling refreshed. What you may not realize is how important sleep is for our overall wellbeing.
Sleep is part of our circadian rhythm, which is the light-dark dependant cycle that keeps our body functioning in a healthy way. Melatonin is our “sleep hormone”, and it is released in response to darkness. It should be highest at night, promoting a deep, restful sleep, and lowest during the day. In opposition to melatonin is our “stress hormone”, cortisol, which inhibits melatonin to promote alertness and wakefulness.
There are five distinct stages of a healthy sleep cycle. Stage 1 is when you are drifting off to sleep. Stage 2 is light sleep where heart rate and brain waves start to slow down. Stages 3 is characterized by very slow delta waves in the brain. Stage 4 is the deepest state of Non-REM (NREM) sleep, and it’s when the body undergoes most of its healing. Stage 5 is when we dream, called Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep2.
We should repeat this cycle 4-6 times during a healthy night’s sleep, which requires both sleeping for enough time and repeatedly entering into the deep sleep of Stages 4 and 52. When we face challenges with falling asleep, staying asleep, or entering into a deep sleep state, our overall health is significantly impacted.
When we don’t get enough sleep, or get poor quality of sleep, our ability to think clearly, learn and retain memories is significantly impacted. Our immune system is weakened, causing frequent cold and flu or difficulty with getting over infections3. Our appetite and blood sugar levels are negatively impacted, linking insomnia to increased risk of weight gain, heart disease, and diabetes1. When we don’t produce enough melatonin, we have an increased amount of cortisol, our stress hormone, which can lead to anxiety, depression, irritability and difficulty coping with stress1.