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Just like how you put much time and value into your balanced diet and exercise, sleep is just as important too and some of us finds it like they have to find the gems out of ground. While you spend the day being proactive with your job, studies, or household chores, sleep is the time where your body repairs itself after the whole day’s activity. However, many people consider sleep a luxury. Many of you think that sleep is only for those people who have plenty of time set aside for it.
When you have an upcoming deadline for your projects or tasks in your job, the first thing that you sacrifice is your sleep. You “pull an all-nighter” as a way for you to get everything done. While this strategy may have worked for many people, little do they know that it’s also working against their health.
Depriving yourself of sleep for one night may result in you feeling tired and grumpy on the next day. Frequent sleep deprivation will not only cause you tiredness, but also long-term health impacts such as obesity, increased risk for cancer, and more. Thus, sleep is not something that you must take for granted.
For adults, you need at least seven to nine hours of sleep every night. Meanwhile, children, teens, and babies need more, especially since their brains are still developing and need a good amount of sleep to keep growing properly. Perhaps, some of you may think, seven hours is already elusive. The truth is, it only becomes elusive if you don’t really prioritize it. After all, no one else is in control of your sleep quality but you.
To give you a boost and some inspiration to really work on getting enough sleep every night, here are six ways on how sleep can impact your health.
1. Better Sleeps Equates To Better Mood
bright closeup picture of sleeping teenage girl
You’ve been through it all—tossing and turning the entire night only to wake up feeling grumpy, unenergetic, and annoyed. When you lack sleep at night, it badly affects your energy level by the next day, affecting your mood. Every little thing you encounter throughout the day will irritate and annoy you easily. That is why medical experts had always linked poor sleep to cause anxiety due to how it can directly affect your brain’s activity and how it handles your mood.
To alleviate your sleeping problem, you can start changing your sleeping environment as it can also contribute to your sleep quality. Make sure your mattress and pillow suit the type of sleeper that you are. There are available choices from stores like Best Mattress Australia, where you can find various collections of mattresses according to the sleeper. Moreover, make sure your room has adequate temperature, dim lighting, and minimal noise to ensure you get the best sleep. Most importantly, make it a habit to sleep early to fix your body clock and make it easier for you to fall asleep.
2. Sleep Can Boost Your Immune System
Another positive impact that sleep brings to your health is boosting your immune system. As mentioned earlier, during your sleep, your body gets a chance to repair itself, including your immune cells. When your immune cells are well-rested and were able to repair themselves, they can easily fight off any viruses and illnesses that may come into your body systems, such as flu or colds.
Thus, it’s always recommended, especially for kids, to have enough sleep every night so that their immune systems are tough enough to fight off diseases even at their young age. Help your kids get their best sleep every night by preparing a cozy kid bedroom for them.
3. Adequate Sleep Reduces Your Chances Of Having Obesity
For those trying to lose weight but still fail to see results, perhaps you should consider looking into your sleeping hours. Are you getting enough sleep every night? If not, your poor sleep quality possibly hinders you from losing any weight despite your exercise and diet efforts. While getting a full-eight hour of sleep isn’t directly going to result in weight loss, it reduces your chances of gaining more pounds.
When your body’s frequently deprived of sleep, your body will produce ghrelin, a type of hormone that boosts your appetite. If you’ve noticed, people who are used to staying up all night to watch TV or scroll on their phones tend to do it while having their midnight snacks. Moreover, your body’s leptin production also reduces. Leptin is the hormone which tells your brain that you’re full. This combo happens when you’re always staying up late, urging you to be always in the mood for a night snack.
Plus, not getting enough sleep also means you have less energy to burn all the excess calories you’ve taken during the night. Ultimately, they become excess body fat.
4. Sleep Improves Your Memory
Another benefit that getting enough sleep can contribute to your body is enhancing your memory abilities. As you sleep at night, it’s your brain’s chance to process and consolidate all the events and information that happened and were gathered during your day. As you wake up, your brain will be well-rested and ready to take on new memories and information again for the next days ahead.
5. Sleep Enhances Your Cognitive Function
Sleep also helps improve your cognitive function and concentration abilities. While putting your all-nighters to impress your boss with your projects might seem like a good idea, your boss would appreciate it even better if you also function well during your working hours. That can only be possible if you get enough sleep every night. Getting enough hours of sleep every night can help you think clearly, concentrate well, and come up with a lot of ideas. Thus, you’re more likely to perform well and be successful at whatever you do during the day.
6. Proper Sleep Reduces Your Risk Of Having Heart Problems
Did you know that frequently depriving yourself of sleep can put you at higher risk of having heart problems in the near future? That’s because not getting enough sleep will cause your body to produce cortisol, a type of stress hormone that makes your heart work harder than average. This can then lead to heart attacks or high blood pressure. Like your immune system, your heart also needs a break every night for it to rejuvenate and function properly for the rest of your life.
The Bottom Line
With these points stated, you can conclude that sleep is not a luxury but a necessity. It’s necessary for everyone at any age and must be prioritized, just like how you prioritize food and exercise. To make it easier for you to sleep every night, you each should create a nighttime routine to help keep your body and mind relaxed and prepare itself for sleep. Your body clock will soon be in sync with your sleeping schedule, making it easier for you to sleep longer hours and reap all the healthy benefits.
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