We’ve all heard how important it is to get six to eight hours of sleep in order to operate regularly and for your body to perform its essential functions.
Sleep is an essential component of our well-being, it is one of the most crucial elements in sustaining a healthy lifestyle, and although we can go without food for a month, several days without sleep have proven to take a serious toll on our mental and physical health.
However, as a result of today’s lifestyle, which includes screen time and blue light exposure, coffee use, and a lack of physical activity (not to mention a bad sleeping cycle), an increasing number of individuals are suffering from insomnia and other sleep-depriving conditions.
If you have been treating yourself poorly in matters of getting a proper amount of sleep, we highly advise you to keep on reading as we’ll discuss six reasons why it is important to have a healthy sleep and how to achieve it.
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It does good for your immune system
The human body never stops amazing us, and it keeps doing so even while sleeping. While we have our good night’s sleep, our bodies produce a protein called cytokines.
The protein essentially targets ongoing inflammations in the body, thereby straightening the immune system and making it produce more white blood cells and other defensive cells.
T-cells, the body’s elite force, are also produced while sleeping in higher quality, and with all this additional help, we can combat serious infections, even viruses such as Covid-19 or any other bacterial infection wreaking havoc.
However, for a perfect hormonal balance in the body, the cycle can play a huge role. A regular sleeping cycle is crucial in achieving all the immune benefits, as sleeping within a fixed schedule regulates the body’s output of hormones and other proteins.
The best advice given by doctors is to go to bed and get up at about the same time every day, thereby getting the best out of your sleep.
It is known to help your heart
Sleep reduces your blood pressure making it easier for your heart to pump blood and stay healthy. A good night’s sleep can do wonders for your tireless organ, however, the quality of the sleep can define its effectiveness.
Unfortunately, more and more people are suffering from obstructive sleep apnea, and it is a far greater condition than most people think.
With the tongue blocking the free airflow, the lower oxygen levels cause other hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline to spike. These hormones can cause heart attacks and put pressure on the whole body.
Thankfully, with all of the advances we’ve made in recent years, sleep apnea may now be easily treated in a few easy steps, one of which is the use of specific aid devices, such as mouthpieces that decrease tongue obstruction and assist regulate airflow; you can click here for more information on these helpful devices.
Then again, you can change your pillow to reduce the additional stress on the neck, shoulders, and back, and regulate your posture while sleeping.
These sleep level pillows have gone through several clinical trials and surprisingly help people with sleep apnea reducing the risks of any “snoring-induced” complications. Another interesting solution is a jaw supporter, opening the airways and reinforcing the jaw.
Of course, you’ll have to get a check-up at some sleep clinic to be sure everything is as supposed, and you’ll have to hold on to a better sleeping schedule.
One solution, if you happen to have a few extra pounds, is to lose weight as snoring is quite common in people who suffer from obesity.
It helps you lose weight
Obesity is a quite common problem in our times, due to excessive food intake and lack of physical exercise. However, studies have shown a clear link between a night of good sleep and weight loss.
The body uses our regular fat stores to conduct basic functions and to keep the body going. Simply, while we are asleep, our body eats the fat and helps the detoxification, boosting the immune system and our overall health.
It boosts the memory
Surprisingly, science is the reason why we usually remember a new lesson better in the morning after studying it the night before.
Your brain consolidates all of the informational input from the day or night before as we sleep, providing us a “clean mind” in the morning with a greater comprehension of what we learned earlier.
Because of the chemical imbalance in our brains, sleep deprivation has a significant impact on memory, and many people cannot recall an incident when inebriated.
As a result, the next time you need to prepare a major speech, do it the night before to ensure that it is crystal clear the next morning.
Moodiness and even depression
A lack of sleep does not always cause depression; but, because sleep is necessary for regulating the body’s hormone release and chemical balance, a lack of it can compound the effects of all the processes going on when we are awake. Simply, the better the sleep, the better our overall mood and the way we feel.
Better thinking
Similar to how the brain manages information input and consolidates memories while we sleep, it also creates new neuron links boosting our cognitive abilities and making us a bit more productive and creative.
However, it is not as good as it seems, and while it might help you be more productive and focused during the day, it cannot compensate for missing sleep and the harm it does.
Therefore, make sure to sleep regularly and avoid depriving yourself of it on purpose.
Research has conducted many studies looking at what happens to a normal functioning human being if he or she is lacking sleep.
And the outcomes have never been favorable since it has been linked to visual hallucinations that last for days.
This only shows the importance of quality sleep and its effects on the body. We, therefore, highly advise you to regulate your sleeping pattern and seek professional help if needed.
