Ben Banbury
- Aug 4, 2020
- 4 min read

8 Benefits of a Good Nights Sleep

Let's be honest. It's not the most exciting topic in the world. I'm going to quickly fire 8 benefits of sleep at you before you start to fall asleep on me

I'll be honest. Sleeps not the most exciting topic in the world is it?

While there are ripped personal trainers in expensive yachts on beautiful beaches, dancing around in their undies, taking photos for the gram and cashing in all the likes

There's me bloody writing about sleep while my dog dribbles on my lap

Not quite as "sexy" is it?

The difference is I didn't write this post to get tonnes of likes or followers

I wrote it because it's RIDICULOUSLY IMPORTANT to your health and wellness

I'm not here to be the most liked trainer in the world but to hopefully be one of the most useful ones

So to jazz up this post a bit I'll share a few stories from my life related to the benefits

Feel free to skip them if you're after a punchy read!

Let's go!

1. SLEEP REDUCES STRESS

When your body is sleep-deprived, it goes into a state of stress

This stress increases your blood pressure which increases your chances of a stroke or heart attack

The ironic thing is that these stress hormones also make it harder to fall asleep come bedtime

Sleep is absolutely essential for reducing stress and anxiety in our lives and it should be the very first thing we focus on when we're dealing with a stressful situation or lifestyle

Ben's Story: The other weekend my awesome girlfriend drove me all the way to Leeds (5-hour journey) to pick up an old truck I found on Facebook

It was a big, butt-ugly truck from the 90s that I'm planning on turning into my off-road beast (follow me on Instagram if you want to see how it's getting on)

Logically, 7 minutes after purchasing it I broke down on the hard shoulder with white smoke billowing out of it like a hipsters vape pen

I got dumped in the local village by the recovery man and had to wait for 7 hours to catch an overnight bus back to London and then picked up by the gf

Needless to say, I probably got about an hours sleep and jeeeeze

I was so anxious the next day! I just felt so stressed, anxious, worried and panicky

Not because of my truck. I just felt awful. I couldn't stop overthinking work and my career and my house move and... everything!

That night really highlighted what a good nights sleep can do for me!

2. SLEEP REDUCES INFLAMMATION

Increased stress hormones caused by lack of sleep raises the level of inflammation in the body. This creates a greater risk for heart-related conditions

Inflammation is also thought to cause the body to degenerate as we age

In other words, sleeping will help keep you look younger!

3. SLEEP MAKES YOU MORE ALERT

That's a pretty obvious one right, but next time you have a great nights sleep note how much better you feel for the whole day

You'll be more energised, happier and alert. This increased alertness also sets you up for a better nights sleep the following night!

4. SLEEP IMPROVES YOUR MEMORY

This is a big one for me. I have rubbish memory

Sleep turns reality into a memory

When you sleep your brains busy processing information throughout the day, making connections between events, sensory input and creating memories

5. SLEEP WILL HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT

Studies have found that people who sleep less than 7 hours a night are much more likely to be overweight

Lack of sleep impacts the balance of hormones that affect appetite

The hormones ghrelin and leptin, which regulate appetite, have been found to be disrupted from lack of sleep

Ben's Story: Back in my early days on training I picked up a client who was a midwife. After a few weeks of personal training with me, she soon started recommending me to her midwife-friends

If you're reading ladies...

All of my awesome midwives did night shifts, which we soon discovered made our life much, much harder

They all found that the day after a nightshift they were absolutely starving! Which was all down Ghrelin

Infact, in a recent study, scientists found that when Ghrelin was administered to a human, they consumed on average 30% more food that day!

That's pretty scary huh

6. NAPPING MAKES YOU SMARTER

Napping is great for overall health and can make you more productive

People who nap at work show much lower levels of stress

Napping also improved memory, cognitive functions and mood

Einstein, for example, used to sleep for 10 hours a night and take regular naps during the day as he was fully aware of how important sleep was for him

7. SLEEP MAY REDUCE THE RISK OF DEPRESSION

Sleep impacts many of the chemicals in the body, including serotonin

Serotonin is a feel-good hormone, it's what gives us that natural high after exercise

People with serotonin deficiencies are far more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety

Frustratingly, low levels of serotonin also cause trouble in peoples sleep!

So it acts as a double-edged sword

8. SLEEP HELPS THE BODY HEAL ITSELF

This is an important one for those of you need to recover after a tough exercise session

During sleep, the body is hard at work repairing damage caused by stress, ultraviolet rays, and other harmful exposure

While sleeping your cells produce more protein. These protein molecules form the building blocks for cells, allowing them to repair the damage

CONCLUSION

Hopefully, you're still awake after reading that, and better yet, you've learnt something!

Life is genuinely better when we're fully rested and we've slept well

So make it a priority tonight to get a full 8 hours and see how you feel tomorrow

I know for a fact you'll feel less stressed and more energetic, but you'll also be repairing your body, reducing anxiety and body fat, increasing your IQ and memory, and maybe most importantly.. looking younger!

Thanks for reading guys!

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