Sleep is an essential aspect of our lives, but its importance is often overlooked in our fast-paced world. Getting enough quality sleep is crucial for our overall health and wellbeing, and can have a significant impact on our physical and mental health.
In keeping up with the fast pace of contemporary living, making daily work commutes and juggling all personal endeavours, it becomes easy to overlook your sleep regime.
Here are 7 essential reasons to ensure that you get quality sleep, consistently:
1) Restores and Rejuvenates the Body
Sleep plays a vital role in the restoration and rejuvenation of the body. During sleep, the body goes through a process of repair and regeneration, which helps to repair damaged tissues and boost the immune system.
It also helps to regulate hormones, which can improve our mood, appetite, and metabolism.
2) Improved concentration & productivity
Regulating several critical areas of brain function, a bad sleeping regime can hamper concentration, productivity, cognition and performance. Experts have even compared the negative impacts of a lack of sleep, to be somewhat similar to an alcohol induced stupor.
Conversely, good sleeping habits directly improve your problem solving abilities, alertness level, and can strengthen performance.
3) Reduces the Risk of Chronic Diseases
Getting enough quality sleep has been shown to reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.
A well balanced sleep pattern helps the body in maintaining adequate blood pressure. If you deprive yourself good consistent sleep, you may be prome to high blood pressure, which correlates to heart diseases.
Furthermore, sleeping less than 7 to 8 hours may be a trigger to several chronic disabilities, and could even lead to a stroke.
4) Boosts Physical Performance
Sleep is essential for athletes and anyone engaged in physical activities. It can improve athletic performance by enhancing muscle recovery and reducing the risk of injury.
It also helps to regulate the body's energy levels, allowing for optimal physical performance.
5) Improves Mental Health
Lack of sleep has been linked to an increased risk of depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues. It can also exacerbate existing mental health conditions, making them more difficult to manage.
Sleeping disorders induced by sporadic sleep patterns or excessive sleeping, can directly lead to chronic insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea.
6) Boosting immune function
Loosing sleep, even for more than a few days can dranstically brind down your immune system. Catching the seasonal flu on a work week, when you haven't slept well is extremely common.
If you cannot skip work, incorporate immunity boosting foods along with regular hydration. A good night's rest helps the immune system to repair and recover for the days to follow
7) Higher Emotional Intelligence
Both emotionally and socially, a good sleep cycle makes you more receptive to other people's micro expressions and feelings. Poor sleep often leaves you numb to obvious social cues, which could lead to alienation.
Delayed emotional and cognitive response due to lack of sleep can give you tardy and unprofessional reputation. In some cases there may even be a correlation to a lack of sleep and lowered empathy.
Hence, from your mood, physical and mental health, to social compatibility, your daily sleep cycle directly correspondence to your overall well-being. Therefore, it is important to prioritize getting enough quality sleep each night. If you are having difficulty sleeping, talk to your healthcare provider to explore potential solution.
