A good night’s sleep is essential to your emotional/mental and physical well being. Just like healthy eating and regular exercise, you need sleep to function normally on the daily basis. In this article, we focus on some of the main health benefits of getting the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep.
Here are the health benefits from a good night’s sleep
Better cognitive abilities – improved concentration and productivity
Getting enough sleep is very important for basic brain functions. Sleep also helps improve your memory. Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to remember even the simplest of things when you’re tired? This often happens to people who do not get enough sleep. Deep sleep helps strengthen memories and skills you learned during the day. it allows your body and mind to rest, rebuild and repair. Your brain organises and processes all information and converts them to short term and long term memories.
Improved attention and concentration
Getting a god night’s rest is known to keep our energy levels up, especially during the day. Getting enough rest will keep your mind fresh and also help you maintain high attention levels throughout the day.
Not getting enough sleep can impair your judgment, reduce your attention span, and reduce concentration levels, risk assessment abilities, strategic thinking as well as reaction time. This can mess you up really bad, especially if you rely on critical thinking and decision making at work. Without enough sleep, you won’t be able to drive or operate heavy machinery. Therefore, getting enough sleep is important because it can help you function normally and keep you focused during the day.
Keep your immune system strong
A good night sleep can help keep germs at bay and allow your body’s immunity to fight them. Sleep allows your body to get the much needed rest and repair. This explains why we are tired and need more sleep when we are sick. Sleep allows your body supports immune system cells and proteins to destroy foreign invaders. It helps your body remember these invaders so that you are well equipped to fight them off the next time you encounter them. Therefore, a good sleeping pattern helps strengthen your immune response, which is essential for rest and recover.
Better athletic achievement
Sleep deprivation can rob you off energy and the time needed for muscle repair as well as motivation which keeps you going in the field. Without enough sleep, individuals face a harder physical as well as mental challenge. Sleep can greatly enhance your athletic performance. Whether you are running, swimming wrestling, biking and more; sleep can significantly improve your accuracy, reaction time, speed, and mental well being. Less sleeping duration in both genders is associated with functional limitation and poor exercise performance.
You get a healthier heart and Steady blood sugar
Lack of consistent sleep increases your risk of developing coronary heart diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure and other health issues. Waking up stimulates the sympathetic nervous system which is responsible for your body’s physical reaction during danger. The SNS also activates the cardiovascular system to increase blood pressure and signal your body to wake up. If you stay up for too long on multiple days, your body will not be able to compensate for the rising blood pressure. Poor sleep quality and quantity also cause poor resistance and insulin regulation. Without the needed sleep, your body will not be able to regulate blood sugar.
Weight control / lower weight gain risks
According to many diet specialists, sleep deprived individuals tend to have larger appetites which can lead to major calorie consumption. This means that sleep deprivation can disrupt your daily normal appetite hormone function to cause poor appetite regulation in individuals. Basically, without enough sleep, your body will mess up appetite hormone production and increase levels of appetite stimulating hormones while reducing production in appetite suppressing hormones.
Getting around 8 hours of sleep daily will keep you well rested and consequently less hungry. With no sleep deprivation, your hormones will be in perfect balance. This means you will not have to fight temptations of unhealthy foods during unhealthy hours, making it easier for you to manage your weight.
Final word
Now that you understand the benefits of getting good quality and quantity of sleep, you need implement habits that will help you achieve that. This included creating an external sleeping environment and habits that promote quality sleep. You can start by ensuring you maintain good sleep hygiene, and take care of your sleeping space. Replace your old beddings and mattresses by getting High quality ones like those from Tempurpedic Mattress. Don’t forget to engage in daily habits that lead to a good night’s sleep and avoid those that will interfere with the quality of sleep you get.