by Michelle Sutton-Kerchner Want to improve your health, body
weight, mental outlook, career, and relationships? Get some
sleep! Right up there with exercise and proper nutrition, sleep
rates as a critical determinant in one’s health. Anyone who is
sleep deprived can share many ways this lack affects his/her
ability to function. Although some sleepless scenarios are
unavoidable, such as caring for a newborn, often a better
night’s rest is within your control. Daily exercise assures
better quality of sleep, which is equally important as quantity.
The expenditure of energy through a regular fitness routine
allows a deeper sleep, which is more refreshing. It’s also
restorative. Whether suffering from a chronic illness or a
simple muscle strain, the rest gained through sleep encourages
healing. It regulates the production of endorphins, which can
act as natural “pain-killers,” and serotonin, which affects
mental outlook. This, in part, explains depression in post-
partum mothers and caretakers who are on duty arou