Project Sleep Wizard

  As athletes, we often hear about the importance of nutrition, training, and conditioning. However, there's another crucial factor that we tend to overlook: sleep. Sleep is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle, and it plays a crucial role in improving cognitive function, physical performance, and overall well-being. However, in today's fast-paced world, sleep is often considered a luxury that people can't afford. With the increasing demands of work, education, and social life, people are sacrificing their sleep to achieve their goals. Unfortunately, this practice can have a detrimental impact on their physical and mental health, and especially on their sports performance.  One of the primary ways in which sleep deprivation affects sports performance is by impairing cognitive function. When you are sleep-deprived, your brain's ability to process information slows down, and you become more forgetful and disoriented. This can be particularly problematic for athle...

  There is a complex relationship between sleep and our social presence. Stress in social life may hinder sleep, and a lack of sleep could ruin one’s day. Poor sleep triggers viral loneliness and social rejection. UC Berkeley researchers have found that sleep-deprived people feel lonelier and less inclined to engage with others, avoiding close contact in much the same way as people with social anxiety. This dynamic proves to be a vicious cycle, as such social isolation could result in overthinking interactions with other people, thus having to endure sleepless nights - both issues perpetuate the other. Any type of anxiety can disrupt a good night’s sleep, such as fear of interacting with either people, tendency to overthink, avoidance of social situations. Studies have confirmed that there is a definite link between social anxiety and poor sleep. For instance, one group of researchers looked at the social anxiety symptoms and sleep issues of 176 undergraduate students. They found...

Sleep is a fundamental aspect of human health and well-being, but many people struggle with getting adequate rest. While there are many potential reasons for this, some people turn to sleeping pills to help them get the rest they need. However, there are important side effects and consequences that should be considered before making a decision about using sleeping pills. Sleeping pills help people to either fall asleep or stay asleep. They work on the receptors in the brain to slow down the nervous system and promote relaxation and drowsiness. There are many different types of sleeping pills available, including benzodiazepines, non-benzodiazepines, and sedatives.  While sleeping pills may be an effective aid, they come with a wide range of possible side effects and risks. These may include, but are not limited to: dizziness, headaches, nausea, next day drowsiness, deathly allergic reactions and sometimes even sleep related behaviours where you may perform tasks while not being ful...

  “Work eight hours and sleep eight hours, and make sure that they are not the same eight hours” a quote by T. Boone Pickens regarding the necessity of an eight-hour work-sleep balance. But is eight hours of sleep really necessary? In short, there isn’t a one-answer-fits-all response as to whether everybody requires eight hours of sleep to go over their day-to-day activities. Moreover, each body is different, requiring a different amount of sleep in order to function.  Most adults require 7-9 hours of sleep yet in today’s fast-paced society, the average adult sleeps for less than 7 hours per night. Although this may not seem to make a difference at the time, losing even one hour of sleep results in a lower ability to think and respond quickly. Lack of an adequate amount of sleep, in the long run, results in an increased risk of chronic health conditions like obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and mental health issues.  People may believe that their body gets used ...