The link between sleep and your health: Insights from Faith Marie Oakley, AGNP

Let’s face it: sleep is one of the first things we sacrifice when life gets busy. We stay up late, rush through our mornings, and try to catch up on weekends – hoping we can simply get by with little sleep. But as Faith Marie Oakley, a Nurse Practitioner at AppInternal Medicine, pointed out during a recent virtual health talk, sleep is way more important than we give it credit for. And it’s not just about getting through the day without feeling like a zombie – it’s about our mood, memory, weight, immune system, and more.

How sleep affects your mood

Have you ever had one of those days when everything seems to bother you more than usual? You snap at people, feel like crying over every minor inconvenience, and just can’t shake the mood? Faith Marie revealed that our sleep (or lack thereof) has a direct impact on our mood. “If I don’t get enough sleep, I know that the next day I can feel emotionally off,” Faith Marie shared. Sleep deprivation messes with the brain’s ability to process emotions, making us more prone to anxiety and irritability.

Faith Marie went on to explain that lack of REM sleep, which is the deep, restorative sleep phase, plays a big role in how we process emotions. So, if you’ve been feeling “off,” it could be that your sleep hasn’t been giving your brain the chance to sort through those emotions properly. So, next time you’re feeling cranky or moody, it might just be time for an earlier bedtime.

Better sleep = a sharper mind

We’ve all had those moments where we can’t remember something simple – like where we put our keys or why we walked into a room. Faith Marie told us that sleep is important for memory consolidation. “If you haven’t slept well, you could be missing out on as much as 40% of what you could have learned,” she said. That’s right – sleep is like a mental reset button that helps you absorb information and retain it.

Whether you’re in school, at work, or just trying to remember where you left your sunglasses, sleep clearly plays a big role. Note taken: The more high-quality sleep you get, the better your brain works the next day.

Can sleep affect your weight? You bet.

Faith Marie explained that poor sleep, especially due to sleep apnea, can mess with the hormones that control hunger and metabolism. “Sleep apnea increases insulin resistance, which promotes weight gain,” she explained. Insulin is the hormone that tells your body to store fat, and if it’s not working properly, it can lead to unwanted weight gain.

But that is not all. Disordered sleep can also affect hunger-regulating hormones like leptin the hormone that tells you when you’re full, and ghrelin, the hunger hormone. This means the body isn’t getting the signal to stop eating, which could lead to overeating and, ultimately, weight gain.

Boost your immune system with sleep

If you’ve ever had a cold or the flu and tried to power through without enough rest, you know how miserable that can be. “Sleep helps rev up your immune system,” Faith Marie explained. While we sleep, our body is working hard to fight off infections and repair itself. But when we don’t get enough sleep, our immune system doesn’t get the chance to reset, and inflammation can linger. This ongoing inflammation can increase the risk of conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even cancer.

The good news? You don’t have to just hope for better sleep – you can actively work to improve it. Faith Marie shared some simple, effective tips:

• Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep each night (yes, it’s important, and no, you can’t catch up on the weekends).
• Treat sleep apnea if you have it.
• Avoid blue light from screens before bed (yes, that means no scrolling on your phone for an hour before bed).

If you’re struggling with sleep or want to learn more about how it’s affecting your overall health, you can schedule an appointment with Faith Marie at AppInternal Medicine, conveniently located across from Watauga Medical Center. Schedule online through MyUNCChart or call (828) 386-2746.

For more information about our Sleep Services at UNC Health Appalachian, call The Sleep Center at (828) 266-1179 or visit unchealthappalachian.org.

Watch Faith-Marie Oakley's Health Talk here