Getting a good night’s sleep is incredibly important for your health. It’s equally important to your health as eating a balanced, nutritious diet or exercising regularly. Most adults require seven or more hours of regular, high-quality sleep per night. However, it takes more than just getting enough sleep to feel rested.
To wake up feeling rested, it’s also critical to get regular, good-quality sleep. The events that take place while you are asleep influence how you feel when you are awake. Your body is working to support optimal brain function and maintain your physical health while you sleep. Additionally, it may impact how well you reason, act, work, learn and interact with others. What are all the important effects of sleep?
Better physical health
Getting a good night’s sleep prevents getting sick more often, as it improves the functioning of your immune system. Hence, with good sleeping patterns and habits, there’s a lower risk for illnesses and serious health problems like diabetes and heart disease. Sleeping can also help in staying at a healthy weight and boost your metabolism. Sometimes waking up and not feeling rested can increase your craving for high calorie foods and sweets that aren’t always that healthy.
Better mood and emotion control
The brain’s ability to process emotional information is facilitated by getting enough sleep, particularly deep sleep’s REM sleep. Losing sleep makes it harder to control your emotions and interact with others. We may be less able to respond to humor and show less empathy when we are tired. Therefore, getting a good night’s sleep makes it easier to get along with others, reduces stress, and improve our mood. Chronic sleep deprivation increases the likelihood of social withdrawal and feelings of loneliness.
Besides emotional health, sleep is also closely connected to mental health and has shown links to different mental health concerns, such as depression. Anxiety, bipolar disorder, and other mental conditions are also found strongly linked to poor sleep quality and sleeping disorders.
Improved memory and focus
Sleep is important for various aspects of brain functioning. Lack of sleep, especially poor quality sleep, can make it difficult to concentrate and think effectively. Lack of sleep has a detrimental impact on cognition, focus, productivity and performance. Sleep helps with learning and the formation of long-term memories, which can help do better in school or at work. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that getting enough sleep helps both adults and children develop their problem-solving abilities and memory.
So, sleep is the best medicine?
The majority of research indicates that you should obtain between 7 and 9 hours of sleep every night for optimal health, while individual sleep needs can vary. It’s time to give sleep the attention it deserves, just as you do with your food and exercise. In case you are having any difficulties with sleeping it is always good to reach out to different health professionals for necessary help. Sometimes an unusual or more stressful life period can be the reason behind sleeping issues. At times, it’s just about paying more attention to your sleep hygiene and routines before going to bed.
[…] and foremost, make sure you get a good night’s sleep. During your holiday, aim to get enough quality sleep each night. This will help you feel more […]