After all, what difference an extra hour of sleep can make to our lives? It may not sound beneficial at all, but a good night’s sleep does us wonders while inadequate sleep at night makes one feel terrible in the morning. As a result, our entire day, activities, performances, decisions, health and happiness depend directly on how well or bad we slept last night.

On that note, sleep has got a number of health benefits. Interested to know more? Keep reading!

Why Do We Sleep?

The first and foremost question that comes to our mind when we think of the benefits of sleep is this – why do we at all sleep? As per a healthy sleep study conducted by the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, even scientists could not find why we sleep. However, they are sure that sleeping is very important for our bodily functions involving health, mind and memory. Every human being needs to sleep for a fresh and healthy body and mind.

How Much Should One Sleep?

Every adult needs seven to eight hours of sleep every day. A child needs to sleep for ten hours in a day while an infant needs 14 hours of sleep.

Many people complain that they don’t get enough time to sleep at night. However, it is owing to our own lifestyle that we do not have enough time to sleep at night. A little change in our routine can give us an adequate amount of time to catch up on sleep. For instance, those who read at night, watch TV or party, can limit their time and decide when they should be in their beds. Another important point to note here is that having enough hours of sleep is not what it is all about. Other important considerations are:

• Sleep at the same time daily.
• Don’t take problems to bed. Your aim should be quality sleep so that you don’t wake up with a headache.
• Wake up at a fixed time every day.

How Does It Matter When You Sleep?

Our sleeping time also matters for good and quality sleep. We all have biological clocks set as per daylight hours. This biological clock is responsible for natural sleep at night. Those people who work in shifts find it difficult to get adequate sleep because they go against this clock. This is also true for people who often travel through different time zones.

Role Of Sleep:

Sleep plays an important role in all our actions, be it memory, learning, mood, decision-making, happiness, health or perception of events. Lack of enough sleep may affect each and every action of ours. Interestingly, sleep plays an important role in storing memories; and inadequate sleep may lead to the formation of false memories, often called hallucinations (1).

Why Is Sleep Important?

Sleep is required for the optimal health and well-being of an individual. Quality sleep at the right time can help in boosting mental as well as physical well-being and can improve the overall quality of life. Fascinatingly, what we feel while sleeping is reflected when we are awake. The body supports brain functions when you are fast asleep and consequently helps in the maintenance of physical health. Growth and development of children are largely dependent on how well and how long they sleep.

Inadequate sleep can lead to hazardous accidents as well as chronic health ailments. It may also affect your attitude, relationships, work and memory.

How The Brain And Emotional Well-Being Are Dependent On Sleep?

As per National Institutes of Health National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute, scientists agree that the brain works properly because of quality sleep. When we sleep, our brain is still functioning, remembering the day’s information, learning and preparing for the next day. It has been proven through researches and studies that quality sleep can lead to better learning. Whether you are a child trying to learn math, or an artist learning painting, or a sports enthusiast who wants to learn badminton, or are even cooking – a good night’s sleep enhances your learning process, problem-solving ability and performance. It helps you be attentive, focused and creative, and makes you a better decision maker.

Sleep deficiencies affect our brain by altering certain functions. This means, if you have not slept properly, your entire personality will change right from your ability to remember things, attitude, how you talk to people, to emotional behaviour and much more. In the act to cope with this change, many people end up in depression and risk behaviours such as abuse and even suicide attempts, in some cases.

Sleep deprived children and teens may end up having problems in school, getting along with people, may get impulsive and angry, lack motivation and may have frequent mood swings too. They may not be able to focus in class, resulting in poor grades. Such kids often bully and end up becoming victims of alcohol abuse.

Effect On The Physical Body:

If you sleep well, it will heal your infections like cold, repair your heart, and protect you from risks such as kidney ailments, heart diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure and many more. It may help you build muscles and can even repair your skin.

Obesity:

Unfortunately, a lack of adequate sleep can lead to the risk of obesity too. A study conducted on teenagers suggested that those teens who slept less than six hours in a day were at a higher risk of obesity in comparison to those who slept well. According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, ghrelin and leptin are two hormones in our body that make us feel hungry and full, respectively (2). Their healthy balance is maintained by sleep. When the body does not get the adequate amount of sleep, the ghrelin level rises and leptin level comes down. This leads to eating high-calorie food at odd hours even when you are full.

Diabetes:

The hormone controlling our blood sugar level is also directly dependent upon sleep. If you don’t sleep well, it is quite possible for blood glucose levels to rise, and hence, chances of contracting diabetes are higher in such people (3).

Growth And Development:

Again in children, growth and development is directly proportional to how they sleep. When one is in deep sleep, the body releases hormones that lead to growth in children. Due to a lack of adequate hormones, the growth retards (4). Moreover, the same hormone is responsible for boosting repair cells and tissues in the body and building muscle mass. Sleep has a direct relation with puberty also.

Fertility:

Sleep is important for fertility and also plays a strong role during pregnancy. Nursing mothers should try and catch up with as much sleep as possible. Not getting adequate sleep can often lead to infertility, which invariably cannot be diagnosed unless the physician delves into this aspect of a person’s life.

Immunity:

The body’s immunity to fight off foreign substances is also dependent upon our sleeping patterns (5). Our immune system may not function optimally due to lack of sleep, and common infections like cold get difficult to get treated in case of lack of sleep.

Safety Issues And Daytime Performance:

People who lack adequate sleep find it difficult to perform throughout the day, according to a report published by the National Institutes of Health. For instance, a child may not be able to study, a driver may not be able to concentrate on the road, and a homemaker may not be able to cook a dish the right way (putting salt more than required, for example, in the dish).

Such activities happen owing to microsleep, a brief moment of sleep the body automatically takes without the mind being aware of it (6). This means, when you feel you have not understood the lecture, it means your mind may have taken microsleep in between, and since you did not hear what the lecturer said. Similarly, the homemaker may have put salt while in the state of microsleep, and hence, doesn’t remember adding it. So, she goes ahead and adds salt to the dish once more.

Few people don’t realize that they are sleep deprived. They don’t realize that they may be at risk and could face problems related to their mind, body and safety.

The Benefits Of Sleep:

Sleep does make a difference to our lives. In fact, it not only affects your physical health, but also your mental health, maintains good mood, and even plays a role in a healthy sex life. Sometimes, lack of sleep may lead to various abuses in teens, including drug and alcohol abuse. Every adult needs at least eight hours of sleep in a day. And this will benefit them immensely. Here are 25 important benefits of a goodnight’s sleep.

1. Healthy Body:

A good night’s sleep will make your body feel lighter and rejuvenated. On the other hand, lack of sleep increases the risk of serious ailments, including diabetes, heart attack, obesity and many more. Studies mentioned on the WebMD website show that these health problems tend to manifest more as you age. A study has proven that disturbed sleep stimulates blood glucose in shift workers, thereby causing diabetes in them.

2. Stronger Immunity:

It is interesting to note that adequate sleep can prevent common cold. When 150 people were monitored for their sleeping patterns and then exposed to the cold virus, as per a study mentioned in the WebMD website, those with seven hours or more of sleep at night showed three times fewer chances of catching cold than those who slept less. This possibly proves that a goodnight’s sleep gives you better immunity to fight off simple ailments.

3. Prevents Migraine & Other Headaches:

People who sleep well do not get headaches. If you are suffering from migraine, even your doctor would advise you to sleep as long as you can. Sleeping has a soothing effect on your nerves, and hence, you would never get up with a headache after a complete night’s sleep (7).

4. Healthy Mind:

If you sleep well at night, your mind is relaxed. You get up in the morning in a better mood and frame of mind. In fact, you are less likely to be cranky. Even children, if they do not sleep well, tend to become difficult to manage. Hence, proper sleep at night leads to a healthy mind and a positive mood.

5. Great Mood:

After a refreshing eight-hour sleep, you will wake up fresh, rejuvenated and look at life with a changed perspective. Some consider this a positive attitude. You will be in great mood and spirits throughout the day, and this will affect you and those around you positively. According to a survey conducted by the renowned shopping channel QVC, lack of sleep impacts people’s problem-solving skills, judgement and makes them feel horrible throughout the day.

6. Creative Mind:

Sleep well for a creative mind. It has been proven that people who sleep well can let their minds relax and let them wander in all directions, improving their creativity. Such people are better painters, actors, dancers, musicians and artists.

7. Better Sex Life:

The National Sleep Foundation conducted a poll, according to which around 26% people confessed having a difficult sex life due to lack of sleep. Studies have shown testosterone levels go down tremendously if your mind and body are tired (8). Otherwise too, lack of sleep affects your love life. People have complained of not being able to date and spend time with loved ones because of tiredness.

8. Reduced Pain:

Nothing can replace sleep for the treatment of chronic and acute pains, as per a recent study. According to the WebMD website, studies have proven that the loss of sleep reduces a person’s threshold to bear pain.

9. Safety On Road:

35. Sleep has a direct relation with your safety. Lack of sleep may lead to many accidents on the road while driving. The devastation of the space shuttle Challenger and the grounding of the Exxon Valdez are two such examples of sleep deprivation (9). It has been proven by The Institute of Medicine that around one million road accidents in the U.S. are due to lack of proper sleep.

10. Reduces Accidents At Home:

Many accidents at home happen when the mind is extremely tired. For instance, you would just trip for no reason, cut your finger while chopping vegetables, burn your hand while cooking or just fall off a ladder because your mind is not rested due to lack of sleep.

11. Weight Management:

According to studies on behavioural patterns of humans, as stated by the National Institutes of Health, if you are extremely tired, you will not go to the gym to exercise and you would not be in a mood to cook a healthy dinner. This indirectly links a lack of sleep to an unhealthy lifestyle and being overweight.

Moreover, leptin hormone in our body plays a vital role in sending signals to our brain that the stomach is full. In case of lack of sleep, the level of leptin drops, and thus, people crave for food (especially foods high in fat and calories).

12. Better Memory:

Often people become forgetful due to sleep deprivation. It has been proven through researches, as stated on WebMD website, that when we sleep, our brain secures memories; while lack of sleep can lead to losing those memories (10). An interesting point to note here is that inadequate sleep can lead to false memories, also known as hallucinations. It has been proven through various experiments that when people are shown a series of words and are asked to recollect those words, people with insufficient sleep remembered words that were not even shown to them.

13. Think Clearly:

Lack of sleep makes one feel fuzzy in the morning. It has the same effect on the brain as drinking too much alcohol. You will be unable to think clearly. According to scientists, loss of sleep interferes with your method of thinking. It takes away your attention and affects your cognition. In such a situation, you are likely to fall prey to making silly mistakes, such as leaving the car keys inside the car or forgetting to lock the door.

14. Better Learning:

Quality sleep leads to better learning, according to the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School. When we don’t get sufficient sleep, our attention and focus go for a toss. Our neurons overwork due to lack of adequate sleep, and thus, our mind won’t be able to coordinate. Previously learned information is also forgotten, as a result. Moreover, we cannot precisely make sound decisions and suffer from impaired judgement. Exhaustion takes over the senses and the muscles and body organs cannot synchronise.

15. Better Decision Making:

If you sleep adequately at nights, your mind would be clear the next day. You will be able to think straight, calculate the pros and cons of an issue and consequently take better decisions. Studies conducted by the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School have proven that human beings have the tendency to sleep on a problem and find solutions to these problems while asleep. So, sleep well to find the right answers to your problems!

16. Better Concentration:

A goodnight’s sleep can refresh your mind, allowing you to concentrate better at work and also enhance your ability to resolve problems. The same holds true for students. A survey conducted by the Harvard Medical School showed that nine in ten Australian students can perform up to 90% better after a goodnight’s sleep, in comparison to those who sleep only for a couple of hours the night before their exam.

17. Better Performance:

If you are an athlete, sleeping for an extra hour will help you perform better. In a study conducted on five swimmers in 2008, it was concluded that those athletes who increased their hours of sleep could swim better and faster.

18. Longevity:

Inadequate sleep may lead to many health problems, like diabetes, restlessness, depression, heart-related ailments and much more. If you sleep adequately, your chances of staying healthy increase. Studies conducted by the National Institutes of Health have shown that those who sleep for less than six hours a day have higher chances of dying at an early age compared to those who sleep for seven to eight hours a day.

19. Appear Attractive:

As per a survey published in the British Medical Journal in 2010, those who sleep for enough hours look more attractive compared to those who keep awake till late night. Those who miss out on sleep have more chances of developing dark circles below their eyes; and their skin starts looking dull. And, tiredness leads to fine lines on the face, thus leading to premature aging.

20. Build Muscles Easily:

If you are fond of building muscles, start sleeping early at night. Most fitness magazines talk about the importance of proper sleep at night. This advice will help you stay healthy. A study published in the British Medical Journal in 2010 states that when we sleep, our bodies repair the damage in cells and tissues. Moreover, our body releases a growth hormone when we are in deep sleep. This hormone aids in building muscles. Thus, lack of adequate sleep may lead to muscle atrophy (11).

21. Be The Mr/ Ms Popular:

When you will be able to remember better, perform better and look attractive, you are bound to be Mr/Ms Popular. People will love you for your cheerfulness and positive attitude. Imagine, all this is because you sleep well at nights!

22. Reduced Chances Of Alcohol Abuse In Adolescents:

Alcohol Abuse is often a result of lack of sleep, as per the Institute of Medicine. It has been found by researchers, according to the Australian website Body + Soul, a website for health and wellbeing, that due to inadequate sleep, the circadian rhythm disrupts and the reward system of brain transforms. This leads to weird behavioural changes in adolescents, such as indulging in alcohol abuse (12).

23. Better Financial Decisions:

People who are tired end up taking thoughtless risks in life. They start looking for bigger profits and often make major financial mistakes. So don’t make a major financial decision in your insane hours. Instead, decide only after a goodnight’s rest!

24. Better Relationships At Home And Work:

If you sleep well, you will be in a good mood always, and that would ensure you have a good relationship with the people around you. Basically, this indicates you will have a healthier atmosphere in your office with colleagues and subordinates, and a beautiful relation with your family and spouse back at home.

25. Lead A Happy Life:

All the above-mentioned facts will directly or indirectly affect your life (13). If you will be happy, you will find everything around you is good and beautiful. Consequently, you would lead a satisfying and happy life.

A goodnight’s sleep can do a lot for you and your health. So start sleeping on time and make your day a healthier and happier one!

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by Daiwik Suresh Gejji via STYLECRAZE