One great way to make your skin glowing, your hair shinier and smoother, your mood more positive, and your body healthier is getting good sleep. Sleep is crucial to one’s health and overall wellness. However, many people don’t get enough sleep because of insomnia and other sleep problems.
There are many good reasons why people should get enough sleep. One of which is because it’s the perfect time for the body to rejuvenate. Also, many cellulars, hormonal, and metabolic processes happen during sleep, which helps in regulating mood, appetite, cognition, emotions, and physical energy.
In this post, you’ll learn the good reasons why your body needs to have a good night’s sleep.
Boost Energy the Next Day
Sleep deprivation can make a person look older than their age, looking tired, and unkempt.
There are many factors why you may not get enough sleep, such as stress, medications, and hormonal imbalances. That’s why proper management is important. Lifestyle and dietary assessment and appropriate intervention should be done to reap from the benefits of having a good sleep.
Increasing deep sleep is crucial to gain the necessary energy you’ll need the next morning. During sleep, the body uses the nutrients from the food you eat and convert them into energy the next day. That’s why waking up from a good night’s sleep is so refreshing and makes you feel full of energy the next day.
Improves Memory
Healthy sleep puts you in the right state of mind. It means that your mind is more receptive to taking and processing information. Sleep triggers the brain, strengthening connections of brain cells to help transfer the right information from one part of the brain to another.
Researchers have tested the cognitive process by teaching new skills to participants and scanning their brains after. Subjects who got the chance to sleep, after practicing a skill, have more active brain regions that control accuracy and speed than those who haven’t slept.
Here are the good-to-know facts about memory and sleep:
- During sleep, skills and memories are shifted from one brain area to more permanent and efficient regions of the brain. That’s why people have higher proficiency the following day.
- Sleeping shortly or taking a nap after learning new information can help with retention. It means that people tend to remember information better after they’ve slept.
- Sleep helps synthesize new ideas, in which new thoughts can be pulled together from various parts of the brain and experiences, which creates new and better concepts. It helps in boosting your problem-solving skills.
Maximize Performance with Healthy Sleep
Lack of sleep can lead to performance issues, such as low academic performance, car crash, work conflicts, and major life disappointments. That’s why getting healthy sleep is very important.
Sleeping is like charging your smartphone, and if your body isn’t charged enough, it easily drains energy, affecting performance.
Sleep Is Good For Your Mental Health
According to a report from Johns Hopkins Medicine, one out of three adults in the United States don’t get adequate sleep, and 90 percent respond to chronic lack of sleep by taking caffeine. People who fail to sleep for at least seven hours at night can experience dangerous mental-health effects. That’s why getting enough sleep is crucial to mental health.
Here are the possible mental health problems that can be a result of sleep deprivation:
#1. Depression:
Studies estimate that 65 to 90 percent of adult patients and about 90 percent of children with major depression experience sleep problems. Most depressed patients have insomnia. Also, one in five patients suffers from obstructive sleep apnea.
#2. Bipolar Disorder:
Studies show that 69 to 99 percent of patients with bipolar disorder report less sleep or experience insomnia during a manic episode.
#3. Anxiety Disorders:
About 50 percent of adult patients who suffer from generalized anxiety disorder experience sleep issues. Also, sleep deprivation is also common among patients with phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and panic disorder.
Sleep Prevents Obesity
People who lack sleep tend to replenish their lost energy by eating more, which can put them at risk for obesity and cardiovascular disorders. Because the body feels tired, it attempts to boost energy by increasing appetite, which leads to munchies and weight gain.
If you want to maintain your ideal body weight, get enough sleep at night, along with a healthy diet, and regular exercise. Avoid sweets or sugary drinks at least an hour before you go to bed. It will lessen your cravings in the middle of the night or midnight snacking, which usually adds to your weight.
Tips and Tricks to Improve Sleep
- Follow a sleep schedule every night. Also, it’s important to sleep and wake up the same time every day, even during your days off to establish a regular sleep-wake cycle, which is beneficial for your health.
- Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows to promote better sleep and avoid body pains that may hamper rest and sleep.
- Design your bedroom that’ll promote relaxation, such as painting the wall with a blue color palette or hanging a relaxing abstract or nature-inspired art painting.
- Perform relaxing bedtime rituals, such as meditation or prayer, or listening to soothing music.
- If you have problems getting sleep at night, avoid naps in the afternoon.
- Avoid using gadgets, like smartphones, tablets, or computers, at least at an hour before you sleep to set your mind and body for rest and sleep. Blue light from these devices can disrupt your mood and eyes, sending signals to the brain that you’re aren’t set to shut off yet. Also, limit watching television.
- Monitor your sleep using sleep trackers, such as wearable fitness trackers. Consult a sleep doctor for chronic sleep issues.
Conclusion
Sleep is an essential activity of the human body, enhancing memory, mental health, and overall biological processes. Along with eating nutritious food, regular exercise, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, getting enough sleep is very important to maintain good health.
Healthy sleep improves memory, prevents mental health illness, boosts your immune system, prevents weight loss, and gives you enough energy the next day. Monitoring your sleep is crucial to ensure that you’re getting the right amount of sleep so you can reap the maximum physical and mental health benefits it can provide.
