It’s always the same – every time you have a restless night you know what to anticipate the following morning. It’s not just feeling exhausted, but the failure to concentrate, feeling irritable, and in the long term, potential health risks can be expected as well.
Intending to stay healthy, people try different approaches like eating healthy and exercising, but sometimes we all seem to disregard the importance of quality slumber. In most cases this is because sleeping is a luxury to many people, and they voluntarily sacrifice their health by sleeping less, to focus more on career, social life, and entertainment.
There are various ways that we all disrupt our sleep, from distractions like electronic devices to high levels of stimulants like coffee or nicotine, but they can all be avoided or restricted. The purpose of having a good quality sleep is not only to rest and relax but to also help your body repair itself on a cellular level, which is required to heal wounds and reduce inflammation and pain.
A good quality sleep consists of four to five sleep phases, and each one of them includes deep sleep and REM (rapid eye movement) periods which can only be achieved if we have between seven and nine hours of slumber each night.
The benefits of getting a full night’s sleep are tremendous and backed by science, and to emphasize them we’ve compiled the list to show everyone that sleeping is vital for our physical and mental health.
Mood and emotions
Just like our body, our mind needs rest too. While we’re sleeping our brain is processing our emotions, among other things. If however, we are not getting sufficient and quality sleep, we’re essentially restricting our brain from being able to process emotions, and as a result, we can suffer from having negative emotions and mood disorders that can create many obstacles such as an inability to have positive social interactions and failure to express ourselves.
Besides, if our sleep quality is decreased for a prolonged period, there is a much bigger chance to develop depression, anxiety, and panic disorders.
Sleeping disorder prevention
As you’re already aware, there are multiple sleeping disorders, like insomnia, sleep apnea, sleep paralysis, or even somniphobia (fear of sleep).
With the right approach, they can be avoided and most of them can be prevented, but if it’s too late and you suffer from a sleeping disorder already, don’t lose sleep and seek professional help because those problems won’t fix themselves and can get more harmful over time.
There are many ways to avoid those, from simple lifestyle changes, therapies, breathing and meditation techniques to medications or supplements. Moreover, individuals may benefit from incorporating self-hypnosis and mindfulness meditation practices into their bedtime routine to combat this. These methods have decreased stress levels, increased relaxation, and improved sleep quality, ultimately reducing the risk of developing mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and panic disorders.
Healthier heart
Every single organ we possess is significant, but the heart is among the most essential organs because it has to work non-stop, from the moment we develop in the womb until we depart. When we’re in the land of Nod, our blood pressure is going down which allows our heart and blood vessels to rest. Without this, we’re more predisposed to develop life-threatening heart conditions, including stroke and heart attack.
Weight control
Being sleep-deprived can mess with the hormone and blood sugar levels in our bodies. Among those hormones are leptin and ghrelin, which are in charge of our appetite. When they are out of balance we are tempted by eating more junk food, sweets, and other unhealthy food, which is a recipe on how to gain weight and have various health issues, like Type II Diabetes.
Increased concentration and productivity
With enough and good quality sleep, your focus and cognition are improved, which leads to better productivity and performance overall. When you’re more focused and able to concentrate, you’re less prone to make mistakes and you’ll be way more productive too.
Athletic performance
Many scientific types of research proved that sleeping increases athletic performance as well. The reaction time, agility, energy, and accuracy are enhanced when our quality of sleep is adequate, regardless of the preference of sport.
It’s also important to recognize that our muscle mass and tissue repair ordinarily happens during the REM phase of sleep, which is something that every athlete or fitness enthusiast needs to remember.
This post may contain affiliate links.
