Who feels refreshed after a good night’s rest?
Getting enough sleep ensures the body’s immune system is in tip top shape. Sleep is important for tissue repair and cell regeneration. Sleep affects various immune parameters, is associated with a reduced infection risk, and can improve infection outcome and vaccination responses.
I used to be proud of burning the midnight oil and being able to function with minimal sleep. Society seems to root out for the most productive human-being but this practise may not be the healthiest option.
This all changed when I read Sarah Gottfried’s book, Younger that made me realise the downside of inadequate sleep. I was over-using my body’s resources and not giving it the love of complete Stage 1,2,3 & 4 sleep. While we are learning more on why we sleep, each stage is said to have a different function including consolidating memories, regenerating new cells and detoxifying the brain, The jury is out as to the perfect amount of sleep one needs: some recommend the right balance is 5 cycles of this 90 minute Stage 1-4 process or at least 7.5 hours sleep.
I suspect this relates to the individual e.g. how active they are and how efficient their body is in completing stages 1,2,3 & 4. I aim for at least 7 hours and I feel refreshed when I wake-up. I feel the litmus for all these recommendations boils down to how you feel as each individual is different.
In today’s modern society, it is very easy to get carried away with surfing the net or watching television. The problem is these devices emit blue light (think fluorescent light) which stimulates the brain and reduces the production of melatonin, your sleep hormone. Experts recommend refraining from using any of these devices 60-90 minutes before bed. When I tell my patients this, they tell me that the TV help them fall asleep.
My response? What do you do when you were preparing your children for bedtime? You would give them a bath and then read to them. This was training the brain to associate a habit to an action (neuro-association).

Adults have trained their brain to associate watching TV to sleep. I reckon we need to retrain adult’s brain to help them sleep. I have a ‘wind down’ routine where I have a shower, read a book then go to bed. Too easy? If it was good enough for children, it should be good enough for the adults!
Our body is responsive to our circadian clock, where it is sensitive to light and day, making different hormones based on the perception of light and other environmental stimuli. Therefore it’s important to expose oneself to as much light as possible early in the day to stimulate the production of morning hormones and to reduce exposure to light at night to stimulate the production of night hormones.
Have you ever wondered why you sleep better under the stars or in the countryside where there are less street lamps? It’s because these natural environments provide the right stimulus to the body to help with the wake/sleep cycle. In the city, I wear blue-blocking light at night to help stimulate my night hormones. It can look ridiculous wearing these yellow-tinted sunglasses however they sure help make me feel sleepy.
Nighttime is when the body’s housekeeping team works best as it isn’t busy doing the functions needed during the day. What do I mean by house-keeping? Housekeeping includes:
- cell repair
- cell regeneration
- detoxification
- strengthen neural pathways, consolidating memory
The body will always prioritise digestion (kitchen) over house-keeping (day-to-day necessary bodily functions to detoxify, renew and repair cells). However, there is a place and time for everything and we need to take the burden off digestion so house-keeping can start its shift.
Sleep affects various immune parameters, is associated with a reduced infection risk, and can improve infection outcome and vaccination responses.
Step 4 sounds surprisingly simple but has been a game-changer in my health journey.
After a good night’s rest and sufficient house-keeping, I feel refreshed and more ready to take on the day! Check out my 5 tips to help you prioritise sleep below! Start prioritising your sleep.

If you haven’t already, check out my 10 steps to boost your immune system here
To read Step 1: Minimise toxins, click here
To read Step 2: east a diverse diet, click here
To read Step 3: address nutrient deficiencies, click here