The importance of sleep is often undermined, and in most cases often even unknown. The benefits of sleep are manifold, so much so that one’s health and fitness can be determined by the number of hours one sleeps at night!
We just don’t need a good night’s sleep to recover and grow, but also to survive. Rest time is always a good time but you would definitely make the most of it once you know the benefits of a good night’s sleep. No matter how many pills you like to pop or indulge in healthy eating almost 365 days a year, there is no substitute for an uninterrupted sleep at night. Proper sleep boosts immunity as well as creative growth. Here are 5 reasons why is sleep important and why you shouldn’t take your zzz’s for granted!
We can’t go that far to say that a good night’s sleep would grant you immunity from disease but it is completely indispensable in proper functioning of the body. Not that you would be missing out on anything the next day if you haven’t slept well that night, but it is the pattern that would be most disruptive. Not getting enough sleep makes one cranky and impairs their judgment. They become vulnerable to making mistakes at work or even injuries like tripping, slipping etc.
Not just the body, but the brain also thrives when it rests well!
It’s safe to say that not getting enough rest would affect your cognitive facility and decision making powers, and in many cases even lead to memory loss. So unless you want to make blunders like leaving wallet at home, leave the geyser on etc, get your act together and sleep! Again, it is not a matter of a couple of nights that becomes a problem. But it bears its seeds when staying awake becomes a habit. During sleep the brain also rests and decides what to store and what’s not so important to be kept as a memory. This is why the benefits of getting more sleep become even more pronounced when you’re trying to learn something new!
Even though a proper co-relation hasn’t been found between a person’s creative faculties and how much they sleep, research shows that even the most creative minds often sleep on an issue that is troubling them and resolve it with full force once they awaken with fresh ideas!
One of the most surprising reasons to get more sleep is that it can supplement medication or pain. Sometimes injury of any kind might make it difficult for one to fall asleep, but ensuring it nevertheless would definitely lend a hand in a stronger and faster healing process.
Studies have also found a link between insufficient sleep and some serious health hazards like heart attacks, diabetes, and obesity. The sleep requirements by age also vary. Like toddlers of age 1 to 2 can afford to sleep more than 14 hours but adults are not advised to have a bed time of more than 10 hours. The amount of sleep needed is also effected by other factors like lifestyle, health, stress levels etc. Make sure you think good, meditate, lead an active lifestyle and take care of your health otherwise all the rest you think you are taking goes for a toss!
Essential for healthy skin and hair
The positive effects of sleep do not just show on the inside, but also on the outside. Blotchy and pigmented skin are just signs that it is tired. Your dark circles say more about your sleeping pattern than you think. Brittle hair and ultimately hair fall does not just mean that something is wrong with your new shampoo, but the problem might be as simple as inadequate sleep or irregular working hours. When the problem is in the roots, no amount of watering or nourishment from the outside will help.
A typical beauty sleep constitutes an 8 hour long nap after which the person wakes up with morning fresh skin and a continued pattern of uninterrupted sleep night after night would also ensure a healthy mane. Because of missed sleep, the stress hormone cortisol is released more than usual, and the growth hormone less than usual. While the skin collagen breaks leading to lackluster skin, growth in the body also gets hindered, whether its hair, nails or strong bones in question!
There are two main reasons accountable for this. One is behaviourial, and the other is physiological. Impaired sleeping leads to exhaustion because of which carrying on day to day tasks becomes difficult let alone exercise. Not just that, when your body hasn’t slept well, the leptin levels drop, which is the hormone that makes you feel full. Not only would you be feeling fuzzy, but also hungrier and nothing but high-cal foods would make you happy! So now you don’t need to wrack your brains to solve ‘how does sleep effect my diet’. Prepare a schedule in which your sleeping hours are given as much priority as your office time, meal time and work out!
Aids in muscle recovery and growth!
Through protein synthesis and human growth hormone release, the process of muscular recovery is made smoother and faster, which would only be supported with a good enough amount of sleep. For bodybuilders, sleep is essentially important as it restores brain function and alertness for enhancing intense training sessions. Training and working out is as important as training recovery, in which a regular sleep plays a huge role!
So it is not just general well-being that 8 to 10 hours of sleep promotes. There are certain facts about sleep which everyone is aware of but all the knowledge takes a back seat because of the demands of a hectic schedule. These and a lot of other factors are testimony to the health benefits of sleep. After all it’s a two-way street. Take care of your body, and it will care for you!
