Getting a good night’s sleep is highly important for your health. It is just as important as maintianing a healthy diet and exercising.
As a society today, we are busier than ever, and more people are facing multiple health problems due to the lack of proper sleep during the night.
Here, we will be looking at the importance of getting a good night’s sleep, as well as the health benefits it offers, so that you can move the needle that much more forward, towards a healthier and better you.
What Is Considered To Be A Quality Sleep?
A good night’s sleep is when your mind and body are completely undisturbed while resting. According to a report done by the National Sleep Foundation, sleep latency, the number of wakes per night, and wake after sleep are some of the biggest determining factors when determining sleep quality.
Making sure you get a proper deep sleep during the night is also important in order to allow your brain and body to fully recover. To get there, you need to achieve two important types of sleep cycles during the night. REM-Sleep and Non-REM Sleep.
REM- Sleep
REM(Rapid Eye Movement) is a phase during your sleep cycle that occurs approximately 90 minutes after initially falling asleep. This stage is critical in order to restore energy and proper organ function, primarily the brain.During REM Sleep, multiple psychological changes occur, including eye movement, muscle relaxation, dreaming, as well as increased respiration and brain activity. The first period of a REM cycle lasts 10-15 minutes, and every other stage thereafter can last up to an hour.
In this stage, the brain also becomes very active and takes the information you experienced from the previous day, and stores them into short and long term memory banks.
Non-REM Sleep
NREM (Non-Rapid Eye Movement) is when your heart slows down and body temperature drops. This phase of sleep is responsible for repairing and building muscle tissue and strengthening your immune system.
This stage occurs 3 times before REM-Sleep and can last anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes before achieving a REM cycle. At this stage, you are relaxed and are slowly working your way up to a deeper and more relaxed state without experiencing dreams, or movement.
The Benefits Of Getting Quality Sleep
Sleep Improves Memory
Achieving a REM Sleep will allow your brain to store information into both short term and long term memory banks from the day before.
According to studies from the National Institutes of Health, sufficient sleep can even help to prevent or decrease the chances of Alzheimer’s disease, a condition where memory, language, and thinking skills are vanquished at a older age.
Sleep Helps Promote A Healthy Heart
Sleep deficiency is one of the primary reasons for stress and anxiety. A lack of sleep can cause your body to respond in a highly responsive manner, therefore increasing your blood pressure. Getting sufficient and quality sleep will help lower blood pressure and reduce the chance of heart attack or stroke.
Sleep Helps You Manage Your Weight
Research has shown that sleeping less than 7 hours per night can cause you to gain weight. This is due to the imbalance of hormones in your body that affect appetite. Getting the proper rest you need will help your mind and body properly respond to hunger and the need for food.
In addition, quality sleep paired with a healthy diet will also help promote healthy metabolism, which will help your body burn more calories, resulting in fat loss and better weight management.
Helps To Reduce Chances Of Diabetes
People who lack sleep are more tired and often depend more on sugar as a source of energy. This can disrupt the way your body produces insulin, which is responsible for converting food to energy.
Getting sufficient sleep will help to properly regulate these insulin levels, therefore helping you reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Sleep Helps Reduce The Risk Of Depression
Depression and anxiety can be an outcome of serotonin deficiency caused by lack of sleep. Getting the proper amount of sleep (7 to 9) hours per night will reduce the chances of depression and mood disorders by promoting proper production of serotonin, which helps to generate feelings of happiness, joy, and fulfillment.
Sleep Helps Improve Immunity Function
Achieving the stage of REM (Non-Rapid Eye Movement) sleep can help boost the responsiveness and effectiveness of special immune cells called T Cells in the body. These fighter cells are like soldiers, which are responsible for combating harmful bacteria, viruses, and parasites that are linked to deadly conditions, including cancer.
The Bottom Line
As you can see, getting good quality sleep is critical when it comes to managing and maintaining optimal health. From both mental to bodily functions, it is one of the main underlining factors that help reduce the risk of life-threatening conditions.
So make sure you take the time to evaluate your sleep patterns and make it a priority. Your body will thank you for it later down the road!