Everyone wants to sleep like a baby, but one in four Americans are not sleeping well at all. In fact, they are sleeping less than three nights a week. One of the things to remedy that would be shed your clothes before sleeping.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on July 1, 2019. It has since been updated.
Falling asleep naturally and peacefully could seem like a dream come true for some people. They toss and turn, fidget, read a book, count sheep, and still stay up till wee hours of the night. At some point, you could have sought medicinal help too. Maybe, it's worries of the next day keeping you awake or the regrets of the past. Either way, it's not a pleasant way to end your day or a great way to start the next day either.
About 25% of Americans experience acute insomnia each year and only about 75% of those recover without developing persistent poor sleep or chronic insomnia, according to Science Daily. Acute insomnia is when you experience difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep for as little as three nights per week for at least two consecutive weeks up to three months. It is considered chronic when it occurs at least three nights a week for more than three months.
One of the simplest ways to counter it could be sleeping in your birthday suit, says science. There are a lot more benefits to sleeping naked, like:
If you experience stress for a long time it will suppress your immune system and increase chances of heart disease, depression, and obesity. It also leads to a worsening of cognitive performance. Stress makes cortisol levels go haywire and getting enough rest is the only solution. Proper cortisol levels improve stress level. When you sleep well, which is what happens when you sleep naked, you are well rested and the cortisol levels become normal, according to Forbes.
When you sleep naked it decreases your body temperature, which helps you sleep better. "There are lots of benefits to getting deep sleep, and sleeping naked can often help accomplish that," Dr. W. Christopher Winter, sleep specialist and author of The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep Is Broken and How to Fix It, tells Women's Health. The best temperature for falling asleep is 65 degrees, says Dr. Winter. Your body temperature changes through the night so it's better to be naked at the beginning of it and just add blankets than waking up to take off layers.
The amount of time it takes for you to go from fully awake to fast asleep is called sleep onset latency (SOL). This time taken affects your sleep satisfaction. Spending time counting sheep or going through the alphabet backward is definitely not fun.
Going to sleep naked can lower your body temperature and reduce SOL. When the temperature starts going down is when our body tells us that it's time to sleep and the fastest way to do it is by losing your clothes.
Confidence is a key to success, no matter how cliched it sounds. When you sleep naked it makes you more comfortable with your body and self. With an increase in body confidence, our self-esteem also goes up. And, those with confidence earn higher wages and get promoted more often than less confident counterparts, found a University of Melbourne study. Sleeping naked indirectly leads to higher wages and advancement at the workplace.
Going to sleep naked lets your vagina breathe and it could lead to better general health, says Dr. Winter. Tight and sweaty undergarments can increase chances of yeast infection as yeast grows in warm, moist conditions. So, whether or not you're sleeping naked, it is always recommended to sleep without undergarments.
As better sleep contributes towards better general health it also leads to improved skin. A study, Impact of sleep restriction on local immune response and skin barrier restoration with and without “multinutrient” nutrition intervention, studied three participant groups. One that received enough sleep, the other that was sleep deprived and the third that was sleep deprived but received extra nutrients. They found that for the group with adequate sleep wounds healed faster than the other two. The extra nutrients didn't make any significant difference, according to Healthline. So, getting enough sleep allows your skin to recover faster and look good as well.
References:
https://www.womenshealthmag.com/sex-and-love/a19919470/sleeping-naked/
https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-sleeping-naked#healthy-skin
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121018103214.htm
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180605154114.htm
Disclaimer : This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
