Sleep is a good thing. Most of us do not get a good nights sleep. We toss and turn because we can’t shut our minds off. Then there are times that our partner’s sleep habits affect our own. We tend to wake up as tired as we went to bed. We need to break the cycle. Sleep really does our body good.
Keeps Heart Healthy: Heart attacks and strokes are more likely to occur during the early morning hours, which may be due to the way sleep interacts with the blood vessels. Lack of sleep has been associated with worsening of blood pressure and cholesterol, which are risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Your heart will be healthier if you get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each night.
Sleep May Prevent Cancer: Did you know that people who work the late shift have a higher risk of developing breast and colon cancer? Researchers believe light exposure reduces melatonin levels. Melatonin, a hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle, is thought to protect against cancer as it appears to suppress the growth of tumors. Be sure that your bedroom is dark and avoid using electronics before bed in order to help your body produce the melatonin it needs.
Sleep Reduces Stress: When your body is sleep deficient, it goes into a state of stress. The body’s functions are put on high alert, which causes high blood pressure and the production of stress hormones. High blood pressure increases your risk for heart attack and stroke, and the stress hormones make it harder to fall asleep. Learn relaxation techniques to counteract the effects of stress and fall asleep faster.
Sleep Reduces Inflammation: Increased stress hormones caused by lack of sleep raises the level of inflammation in your body.3 This creates a greater risk for heart-related conditions, as well as cancer and diabetes. Inflammation is thought to cause the body to deteriorate as we age.
Sleep Makes You More Alert: A good night’s sleep makes you feel energized and alert the next day. Being engaged and active not only feels great but increases your chances for another good night’s sleep. When you wake up feeling refreshed, use that energy to get out into the daylight, do active things, and be engaged with your world. You’ll sleep better the next night and increase your daily energy level.
Sleep Improves Your Memory: Researchers do not fully understand why we sleep and dream, but they have found that sleep plays an important role in a process called memory consolidation. During sleep, your body may be resting, but your brain is busy processing your day, making connections between events, sensory input, feelings, and memories. Deep sleep is a very important time for your brain to make memories and links, and getting more quality sleep will help you remember and process things better.
Sleep May Help Lose Weight: Researchers have found that people who sleep fewer hours per night are more likely to be overweight or obese. It is thought that a lack of sleep impacts the balance of hormones in the body that affect appetite. The hormones ghrelin and leptin, which regulate appetite, have been found to be disrupted by lack of sleep. If you want to maintain or lose weight, don’t forget that getting adequate sleep on a regular basis is a huge part of the equation.
Napping Makes You Smarter: Nighttime isn’t the only time to catch ​ZZZZs. Napping during the day is an effective, refreshing alternative to caffeine that is good for your overall health and can make you more productive. In one study, people who did not nap or took naps shorter than one hour, experienced mental decreases four to six times greater than those that napped at least an hour. People who nap at work show much lower levels of stress. Napping also improves memory, cognitive function, and mood.
Sleep May Reduce Risk Of Depression: Sleep impacts many of the chemicals in your body, including serotonin. People with serotonin deficiencies are more likely to suffer from depression. You can help to prevent depression by making sure you are getting the right amount of sleep: between 7 and 9 hours each night.
Sleep Helps The Body Repair Itself: Sleep is a time to relax, but it’s also a time during which the body is hard at work repairing damage caused by stress, ultraviolet rays, and other harmful exposure. Your cells produce more protein while you are sleeping. These protein molecules form the building blocks for cells, allowing them to repair the damage.
Sleep Boost Your Mood:Â Another thing that your brain does while you sleep is process your emotions. Your mind needs this time in order to recognize and react the right way. When you cut that short, you tend to have more negative emotional reactions and fewer positive ones. Chronic lack of sleep can also raise the chance of having a mood disorder. One large study showed that when you have insomnia, you’re five times more likely to develop depression, and your odds of anxiety or panic disorders are even greater.
Sleep Helps With Athletic Achievement: If your sport requires quick bursts of energy, like wrestling or weightlifting, sleep loss may not affect you as much as with endurance sports like running, swimming, and biking. But you’re not doing yourself any favors. Besides robbing you of energy and time for muscle repair, lack of sleep saps your motivation, which is what gets you to the finish line. You’ll face a harder mental and physical challenge — and see slower reaction times. Proper rest sets you up for your best performance.
Sleep Helps With Your Blood Sugar:Â During the deep, slow-wave part of your sleep cycle, the amount of glucose in your blood drops. Not enough time in this deepest stage means you don’t get that break to allow a reset — like leaving the volume turned up. Your body will have a harder time responding to your cells’ needs and blood sugar levels. Allow yourself to reach and remain in this deep sleep, and you’re less likely to get type 2 diabetes.
Sleep Helps You Live Longer: Too much or too little sleep is associated with a shorter lifespan—although it’s not clear if it’s a cause or effect. (Illnesses may affect sleep patterns too.) In a 2010 study of women ages 50 to 79, more deaths occurred in women who got less than five hours or more than six and a half hours of sleep per night.
Sleep also affects quality of life.
Sleep Helps Improve Grades: Children between the ages of 10 and 16 who have sleep disordered breathing, which includes snoring, sleep apnea, and other types of interrupted breathing during sleep, are more likely to have problems with attention and learning, according to a 2010 study in the journal Sleep. This could lead to “significant functional impairment at school,” the study authors wrote. In another study, college students who didn’t get enough sleep had worse grades than those who did.
So the next time your child does not want to take a nap or go to bed you can explain to them some of the benefits of sleep for them. You now also know why a good nights sleep will benefit you too. Make sure you get plenty of rest so you can be at your best.
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