How Reducing Salt Intake May Improve Your Sleep

How Reducing Salt Intake May Improve Your Sleep

We all love sprinkling salt in to salad, curries, snacks and so on. Isn’t it? While salt instantly adds flavor to our dishes, excessive amount of salt can also put you at health risk. Without doubt, salt is a must when it comes to cooking but caution needs to be maintained when adding salt to food as excess salt can hamper your sleep. As per a research done in Japan by Nagasaki University restricting salt content in food especially at dinner promotes a restful sleep and decreases the number of times you wake up to go to the toilet. Reducing the amount of salt in diet can significantly decrease urinary frequency both during day as well as night.

Our body requires salt or sodium in order to function, making it one of the most essential minerals. Sodium that is present in salt facilitates muscle contraction and promotes smooth functioning of the nerves. It also maintains rhythm of the heart and regulates the fluid content in the body. Although it is not proven that sodium can prevent sleep, its negative effects may hamper the ability of an individual to sleep even though there is no direct link. Now, how is it so? Let us see below.

How Reducing Salt Intake May Improve Your Sleep

Hypertension & Sleep: Salt Affects Blood Pressure Which Affects Your Sleep

Excessive sodium intake may put you at risk for getting hypertensive. Studies have shown that high blood pressure alter the sleep patterns of an individual. It is also true that an individual with an irregular sleep pattern tends to be at risk for hypertension. So, reducing the salt intake can help you keep away from hypertension and you can have an improved sleep.

Excessive Salt Causes Water Retention Which Affects Your Sleep

Excessive Salt Causes Water Retention Which Affects Your Sleep

Consuming excess of salt causes your body to retain fluid. This increased amount of fluid in the body can contribute to sleep disturbances that leaves you feeling tired in the morning. What actually happens is, when you lie down to sleep, the excess of body fluid can settle in the upper airway and this can obstruct the pharynx and lead to sleep apnea. Individuals with sleep apnea experience several interruptions in their sleep, making the quality of their sleep poor. Hence in this way, reducing the salt intake improves your sleep by decreasing the water retention.

Reducing Salt Intake Can Improve Sleep: Conclusion

Now, we know that sodium present in the common salt can affect your body in various ways, including increasing blood pressure, causing water retention and affecting your sleep. So, there’s no doubt about it that by reducing your salt intake you can have improved sleep.

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Team PainAssist
Team PainAssist
Written, Edited or Reviewed By: Team PainAssist, Pain Assist Inc. This article does not provide medical advice. See disclaimer
Last Modified On:October 10, 2019

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