Why a good and consistent sleep is important?
Quality sleep is essential for your overall good health and most healthy sleepers spend a third of their lives sleeping. It is recommended for adults to take at least 8 hours of sleep daily. Some benefits of good sleep are as follows:
Improved productivity and concentration
Good and peaceful sleep allows your brain to consolidate memories and improves cognitive functioning of your brain and you become better in decision-making, judgment, problem-solving, and planning abilities, etc.
Studies reveal that sleep deprivation increases the risk of serious mistakes as your brain does not function properly due to lack of sleep.
Better metabolism and weight control
While sleeping, your body releases and regulates various hormones, that’s why sleep is important for good metabolism. Studies showed that people who are sleep deprived or sleep late at night are more prone to obesity. Lab-scale studies showed that sleep deprivation can alter the glucose metabolism and hormones involved in regulating metabolism. A majority of epidemiological studies have suggested that chronic partial sleep deprivation is associated with an increased risk of obesity and diabetes. In a study, it was proved that children and adults with a short duration of sleep were 89% and 55% more likely to develop obesity, respectively. Therefore, for a healthy body, proper sleep is a must.
Better Growth and physical fitness
While we are sleeping the level of human growth hormone (HGH) that is released by our brain reaches its maximum. HGH is vital for a healthy body as it promotes healthy growth of bones, repairs cells and tissues, increases muscle mass, and also promotes appropriate repair and development of the body. HGH is vital for children as it is responsible for height growth. Adults who are sleep deprived are deficient in growth hormone and experience muscle wasting and a buildup of fat, which can decrease their physical fitness and can also contribute to gaining weight.
Improve Physical performance
The physical performance of the body is improved when you had a good sleep, a clear mind, and a well-rested body. Not getting enough sleep not only makes you feel tired the next day but also has a huge impact on what’s happening inside your body.
Getting enough sleep is crucial for athletic performance,” says David Geier, MD, an orthopedic surgeon, and sports medicine specialist in Charleston, SC. As studies suggest that good sleep can improve speed, accuracy, and reaction time in athletes.
Improve the functioning of Heart
Getting enough and good sleep is not only important to boost your energy levels but is also crucial for the health and performance of your heart. Insomnia is linked to high blood pressure and heart disease as lack of sleep can enhance the stress level. Also, during normal sleep, your blood pressure goes down. Having sleep problems means your blood pressure stays higher for a longer period of time and this high blood pressure can lead to stroke.
Improve mental health and emotions
As mentioned earlier a good sleep can boost the cognitive functioning of your brain. Similarly, lack of sleep can develop anxiety and depression, lead to irritable behavior, reduce energy and cause poor mood. But if you will take proper sleep all of these symptoms will be gone within a week.
Strengthen immune system
A good and peaceful sleep rejuvenates the body’s immune system by producing certain cytokines during the early phases of sleep. These cytokines are helpful in fighting infection and inflammation and hence make a person’s defense response stronger against diseases.
Sleep deprivation means a decrease in the release of such cytokines, resulting in reduced numbers of infection-fighting cells and antibodies. This reduction makes one more susceptible to even simple illnesses, such as the common cold, etc. In a study, it was revealed that people who slept less than 7 hours were almost 3 times more likely to develop a cold than those who slept 8 hours or more.
The Bottom Line
Along with nutrition and exercise, good sleep is an essential component of a person’s overall well-being and health. You simply cannot achieve optimal health without taking care of your sleep. Therefore, it’s important to practice good sleep habits. But if you feel you are unable to sleep properly despite good sleeping habits then you must contact your healthcare provider to determine the underlying cause of your insomnia and seek medical health in form of sleep medications so that you can enjoy a peaceful sleep.
References
McHill, A. W., & Wright, K. P. (2017). Role of sleep and circadian disruption on energy expenditure and in metabolic predisposition to human obesity and metabolic disease. Obesity Reviews, 18, 15–24. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12503
DePietro, R. H., Knutson, K. L., Spampinato, L., Anderson, S. L., Meltzer, D. O., van Cauter, E., & Arora, V. M. (2016). Association Between Inpatient Sleep Loss and Hyperglycemia of Hospitalization. Diabetes Care, 40(2), 188–193. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc16-1683
Besedovsky, L., Lange, T., & Born, J. (2011). Sleep and immune function. Pflügers Archive – European Journal of Physiology, 463(1), 121–137. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00424-011-1044-0
Cohen, S., Doyle, W. J., Alper, C. M., Janicki-Deverts, D., & Turner, R. B. (2009). Sleep Habits and Susceptibility to the Common Cold. Archives of Internal Medicine, 169(1), 62. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinternmed.2008.505
Sunil Sharma and Mani Kavuru (2010). Sleep and Metabolism: An Overview. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2929498/
Maski, K. (2021). Insufficient sleep: Evaluation and management. Up To Date. Published. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/insufficient-sleep-evaluation-and-management
Pires, G. N., Bezerra, A. G., Tufik, S., & Andersen, M. L. (2016). Effects of acute sleep deprivation on state anxiety levels: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Medicine, 24, 109–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2016.07.019