“The way you feel while you are awake depends in part on what happens while you are sleeping.”
Even if one knows nothing about how sleep works, he or she must have noticed that when he or she sleeps well, he restores his or her energy well, wakes up with a good and happy mood and reacts to things throughout the day better. Having enough quality sleep can help mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety. In fewer words, good sleep is vital for maintaining good health and well-being throughout your life. Sleep has no less importance than a regular exercise and eating a balanced diet.
In today’s busy life we often fail to embrace the necessity for enough sleep. We stretch ourselves beyond the working hours and become a night owl. Treating our body in such a manner and not letting it have the rest to restore and replenish the energy results in poor health-both physical and mental.
The following are some of the many amazing health benefits associated with getting a good night sleep:
1. Good Sleep Leads to Better Productivity, Cognition and Concentration
Sleep deprivation leads to poor concentration, and adversely affects productivity and cognition. It has a deteriorating effect on your alacrity and responsiveness. Sleep has links to several brain functions like cognition, reactions and responses to things, productivity and ability to focus. Studies show that a child’s sleep patterns have a direct impact on his behavior and the way he performs academically.
2. Poor Sleep Has strong Links to Weight Gain Risk
Children and adults with shorter sleep duration are at greater risk of obesity. Even though obesity is linked to several other factors such as drinking alcohol, living with type 2 diabetes, level of physical activity, long working hours or long sedentary time, studies show that shorter sleep duration and poor sleep patterns is one of the strongest risk factors for obesity.
Moreover, lack of sleep might also result in a lack of a person’s motivation or ability to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
3. Good Sleep Helps in Better Calorie Regulation
Studies show that sleep-deprived people have a bigger appetite and can eat more and consume more calories than a person getting a decent amount of sleep. Poor sleep disrupts the appetite regulating hormones that results in more calories intake. This disruption in hormone regulation results in higher levels of ghrelin, the hormone that stimulates appetite, and reduced levels of leptin, the hormone that suppresses appetite. A person getting enough quality sleep has his or her appetite hormones well regulated and that’s why consume fewer calories and keeps the weight in check too.
4. Greater athletic performance
The body needs sleep because it needs to recuperate from all the fatigue that it gets during the time you are awake. Your body heals during sleep. Athletes are way more physically active than us and sleep is as important as consuming enough calories and nutrients for them. The athletic performance benefits from good adequate sleep. It helps them with better performance intensity, enhanced speed, better coordination, better alacrity and mental functioning and they feel more energised, motivated and happy.
5. Sleep Lowers the Risk of Heart Disease
Sleep patterns and duration can greatly impact many health risk factors. High Blood Pressure is one of the major risk factors for heart disease. People who sleep well have their blood pressure regulated well because adequate rest allows the body to do that for them. People who don’t sleep enough are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease. Getting an adequate amount of sleep can reduce the chances of sleep-related conditions such as apnea and promote better overall heart health.
6. Sleep Enhances Social and Emotional Intelligence
A well-sleeping person is more socially and emotionally intelligent than the one who is sleep-deprived. One who gets adequate sleep has better cognition when it comes to recognize and react accordingly to other people’s emotions and expressions. Research shows that quality sleep makes you more empathetic, and better at responding to emotional stimuli.
7. Sleep Prevents Depression
Whenever you are stressed out or worrying, you get headaches and have sleepless nights. If that happens for a longer period of time you are left unarmed before your worries and anxieties. Sleep is not just your body’s way of recovering from all that it goes through physically and mentally throughout the day but also is a defense system against risk of getting depressed. Remember what your mother says when you have been stressing over something, “sleep on it” and yes, when you wake up in the morning, it’s very likely you wake up with clarity, a better mood and the brain works better. Psychiatrists suggest that people with sleep disorders such as insomnia are likely to show signs of depression. That’s why you must treat sleep as a necessity and not a privilege that you can compromise on.
8. Sleep Lowers Inflammation
Sleep Deprivation often activates undesirable markers of inflammation and cell damage. Poor sleep is also responsible for long-term inflammation of the digestive tract, in disorders known as inflammatory bowel disease. It can also increase your risk of disease recurrence.
9. Sleep Boosts Your Immune System
Sleep enables you to re-energise, recover, repair and be ready for another day. Your body takes on days one by one. The more you allow your body to rest and regenerate itself the more ready and stronger it will be to fight off infection and diseases. A tired body can’t stand strong against the external threats.
Some Things That A Person Can Do To Improve Sleep Quality are:
1.Don’t Make Sleeping Your Hobby
Avoid sleeping when you already have had enough, it is only going to make you lethargic.
2.Going to Bed Around the Same Time Each Night.
Human body is wonderful. It falls into a pattern or habit.
3. Be More Active During the Day
Spend more time outside and be more active during the day.
4.Reduce Stress Through Exercise or Therapy
Try to reduce the stress by being mindful of the causes and try to address them. Take therapy if or when needed. Doing exercises, even as simple as running, and cycling can help you de-stress and sleep well.
5. Reduce Use of Phone and Electronic Devices
You can’t avoid them completely but you may cut your social media time Sleep is your body’s vital, and sadly often neglected need. It is one of the most essential components of your overall health and well-being. Listen to your body’s needs. It is rewarding. Happy Sleeping!!!
