Getting a night of healthy sleep is not something you would want to assume. Whether you fail to sleep because of work pressures or hormonal imbalances, effort must be put in place to get optimum amounts of sleep. Healthy sleep is important for maintaining good health and avoiding diseases such as diabetes, heart attacks, and high blood pressure. At the very least, adults need 7 hours of sleep to remain mentally alert during the day. Benefits of healthy sleep cannot be understated as they have proven effective in improving a person’s health and well-being.
Let’s get down to the benefits of a healthy sleep.
- Stronger immunity
Sleep has been proven to give you better immunity against diseases such as the cold virus. A research conducted in over 150 participants for two weeks made interesting findings. Participants who slept for 7 hours or fewer had a high chance of contracting a cold as compared to participants who slept for 8 hours. During sleep, your body also produces more protein molecules that can fight infections and other foreign bodies. Getting considerable amounts of sleep is important for overall health and well-being.
- Improved Memory
Apparently, a good night sleep can help you process memory better. When sleeping your brain functions to retain and store the memory of the events that occurred to you during the day. Having a fewer sleep denies your brain the time to process memories. Ultimately, a person with more sleep at night remembers more events that occurred during the day than a person who slept for fewer hours.
- Makes you sharp and more of a clear thinker
Sleep deprivation is not healthy for your brain. Limited sleep affects your brain functioning. This relates to performance, cognitive function, and productivity. With your productivity impaired, you are bound to make simple mistakes such as forgetting to zip your trouser after leaving the washroom or leaving your car keys behind.
A study done on the effects of sleep on your brain functioning showed that sleep indeed makes you fewer of a clear thinker. You may find it difficult solving mathematical quizzes and equations. The study found out that medical interns subjected to more than 24 hours of work made more mistakes than those who took a break to rest.
The opposite is true when you get good sleep. Your brain functions will be at their peak making you more productive and a good problem solver. A good night sleep coupled with napping goes a long way in making you sharp.
- Peak health
Adults who sleep for up to 8 hours tend to have better health compared to those who sleep for fewer hours. Past research has proved that there is a narrow line between fewer sleep and diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart complications. While you might be tempted to think that these diseases build up over the years, they could show up in a span of one week. 10 young and healthy men were subjected to fewer hours of sleep for 5-7 days. Out of the 10 men, 3 were found to have prediabetes symptoms. Though not properly conclusive, this study revealed how less sleep could affect your body’s ability to process glucose.
- More sleep better mood
Mood counts in your daily interactions and social life. Sleeping for fewer hours could make you pretty upset or angry with slight provocations. Whether it is from your boss, colleague or co-worker, you can be sure your social life will turn out not to be the very best. Studies have shown that poor sleep affects your ability to pick social cues affecting your social life at large. An overtired person overreacts to tough situations. However, a person who gets enough sleep remains calm, collected and can handle challenges in a sober manner.
- Puts your weight in balance
Your sleep hormones can be triggered or reduced by your sleep amount. For instance, healthy sleep will help you control leptin and ghrelin, your appetite-causing hormones. You are fewer likely to crave for foods that are rich in high calories. Less sleep also means you could gain weight from failure to exercise due to tiresomeness. A person feeling energetic is more likely to go for a hike than one feeling tired. Fewer exercises make you add weight in the long run. A short duration of sleep has also been linked to obesity. For adults, the risk of getting obese is said to be 89%. Children that also sleep fewer are not any safer as they stood at a 55% risk of becoming obese. Avoid unnecessary weight gain by getting enough sleep.
- Good sleep reduces chronic pain
Time and again, we get injured from doing manual jobs, exercising, gaming or lifting weights. As a result, a part of your body such as an ankle could be subjected to so much injury pain. Even though this may make it hard for you to sleep, studies have linked the ability to withstand pain with better sleep. If on medication, quality sleep helps in pain reduction by supplementing the medication. You also want to make your beddings more comfortable by purchasing a good mattress. It points fewer to sleep for many hours only to wake up with back and neck pains or feeling worse. Buying a Casper mattress could be your best course of action in making your sleep experience wonderful. For more information, check these Casper mattress reviews.
The bottom line
I need not repeat why quality sleep comes with great benefits to your body. Quality sleep entails sleeping soundly for the recommended sleep hours of your age. For adults, getting 8 hours of sleep is what guarantees peak performance and health. Quality sleep not only gives you better health but also determines your overall happiness and well-being. However, it is also important to note that sleep is not an end in itself but comes to supplement other healthy lifestyle habits. Good nutrition and exercise also form part of the equation in giving you peak health. Sleep soundly to a better tomorrow.
