Importance of Getting a Good Night’s Sleep

When I was little I used to scoff at the idea of sleeping more. That was because I was a very active child. However, as I grew, I found solace in sleeping as I sensed it was one of the vital practices to restore our bodies.

But that’s not the only thing that it does. According to National Sleep Foundation (NSF), getting enough sleep is more than essential for the wellbeing of a person throughout his life. However, despite this, not everyone enjoys agood sleep. In fact, according to statistics, around 50-70 million adults in the U.S. are experiencing sleep disorders and some of the cases do not even go noticed. Among the problems, insomnia is regarded as the top condition affecting people of all ages. The reasons for this could be many. If we zoom into the daily routine of the humans of today, we can see that the overall pressure buildup throughout the day coupled with the anxieties and the stresses of every hour are the contributing factors.

Whatever the reasons for the sleep disorders, the effects of it are alarming. Following are some of the problems that arise due to a lack of sleep.

1) Over-weightiness

Deprivation of sleep is a menace in its own nature. Normally, it is recommended that the adults should have at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep. Reduction in these hours can cause an increase in the stress level of the body. And from the study of the mechanism of the hormones that work in our bodies, an increase in stress gives way to the release of the cortisol hormone. This hormone is responsible for the mounting levels of appetite. Therefore, after a tardy sleep, in the following day, you would experience a rush to eat high-fat, and high-calorie food. Consumption of this type of food is meant to speed up the production of serotonin which is a calming hormone.

2) Lack of concentration

Throughout our days, concentration is an important factor that enables us to perform tasks some of which are vital for our existence. However, when we don’t get enough sleep, our brain centers that are responsible for cognitive thinking and concentration see a setback in these qualities. What happens is that our brains’ thought processes are slowed down and we become unable to think about a situation more clearly.

It doesn’t require rocket science to understand this process. Our brains need to stay active during the day, and for the most part of the night, they require to get thoughts into specific portions and (to state it normally) rest.

3) Memory setbacks

According to WEBMD, sleep is important for the repairing of the nerve connections that are responsible for memorial connection in our brains. Different phases of sleep add and pack up the information that we receive throughout the day. It is almost as if they prepare themselves for the next day. They do actually.

However, if any individual sleeps less, the cycles of the sleep that makes it possible for memory incorporation are disrupted. This means that individual would be less likely to recall the key moments that happened the previous day. Over time, if that person does not restore his or her sleep cycle, he would run into weakening his memory in the long run.

4) Decrease in athletic performance

Sleeping is a recovery practice. Our activities during the day take atoll on our muscles and the time when they get to relax out is when we take adequate sleep. In other words, exercise might be good for our health but the lactic acid that accumulates because of the over-exertion is only depleted when we sleep. If not, then the National Sleep Foundation says that it can lead to decreased athletic performance. The split-second decisions that athletes rely on are largely affected by the sleep deprivation. This is the sole reason why athletes accompanied with nutrition focus on getting good REM sleep. They don’t want to decrease their athletic capabilities.

5) Risk to the heart health

Our hearts don’t sleep when we are asleep. But like every other organ, Sleeping less is detrimental to the health of our hearts and it triggers the underlying health risks such as adisruption in our blood pressures, glucose metabolism, and inflammation. This is proved by the compromised heart conditions of the patients suffering from sleep apnea – a sleep disorder which causes them to wake up frequently during the night.

A threat to the heart because of the deprivation of sleep is not only for the adults but also for the young ones. In fact, it is found that those children with an initial sleep deprivation might not experience heart problems in their ages, but the risk could mount up for their adulthood. That means they could have high cholesterol levels in the later stages of their lives.

6) Increase in depression

One of the common sign of depression is a lack of sleep or a disruption in the cycle of it. We know that sleep is a restorative process; however, when there is a reduction in the total hours of it, we might experience redundant mood swings and inefficient reception of the surrounding environment. Although this might be termed as temporary; however, prolonged sleepiness can alter the activity of our brains in the negative side, thus, strengthening its tendency to run into the vicious cycle of depression and anxiety.

With that, it is also important to note that one of the many symptoms of clinical depressionis, in fact, a lack of sleep.

7) Contributes to sickness

Our immune system is the one to be credited for keeping us healthy. It is our infection-fighting proteins and cells that are the major players in it. Nevertheless, there are certain molecules—such as cytokines—that when under-released contributes to sickness. Not only that, the proteins and the protective cells we talked about are also reduced when our bodies undergo a smaller period of restoration through the practice of sleep.

Whether someone like it or not, sleeping is a process that is vital to our well-being. As it is clear from the aforementioned statistics and resources, sleeping contributes to a plethora of different condition which otherwise can be avoided.