Taking rest is as important as any other thing (such as exercise or eating) you do to maintain your health. This is why you need to have a good night’s sleep. Although there are several distractions that can hamper your sleep schedule. These distractions could be physical or emotional.
How Does Good Sleep Help?
In today’s era, a majority of the population do not sleep or take rest for the required amount and if they do, the sleep quality is not how it is supposed to be. All of this leads to major health issues. Let’s have a look at how sound sleep impacts your body.
A night of good sleep is considered very important if you want to maintain your health. It is associated with so many physical as well as medical conditions.
Some of the reasons why good sleep is important for your body and mental health are mentioned below:
- Higher body weight- Do you know poor sleep can increase your body weight? Well, it certainly can. This is one of the risk factors that can lead you to have obesity. Your sleep has an effect on your weight because it impacts several hormones and leaves you with no energy and thus no motivation to exercise.
- High calories- People who do not sleep for the required amount of time tend to eat more. This means they have a bigger appetite which leads to intake of higher levels of calories. It is believed that it happens because of fluctuations in hormones that affect your appetite. People who are sleep deprived are found to have higher levels of ghrelin hormone that promotes appetite and lower levels of leptin hormone that reduces your appetite. This leads to poor appetite regulation.
- Improved concentration- A night of good sleep helps in the better functioning of the brain. It can help you improve your cognitive functions, productivity, concentration, as well as overall performance. Good sleep can also help you get better at reasoning, enhance your memory, and improve your creativity levels.
- Heart risks- People who are sleep deprived and have a shorter duration of sleep have a major risk related to their heart. These people are more likely to have heart diseases, strokes, or any chronic disease.
- Depression- You can also develop a few mental issues if you are someone who is sleep-deprived. There are higher chances of you developing issues such as depression. It can further lead to suicide as well. Poor sleeping patterns are very dangerous for your mental health.
- Improvement in the immune system- Immune function is associated with sleep patterns. Poor sleep patterns mean poor functioning of the immune system. If you are someone who gets colds on a regular basis, you may want to improve your sleeping patterns.
- Diabetes and metabolism risks- Not having a great sleeping pattern can impact your blood sugar levels negatively. It also has the potential to reduce the insulin sensitivity in your body. All of this can lead you to develop type 2 diabetes. It can even happen to healthy adults.
How much sleep do you need?
There are several factors on which your sleeping patterns depend. One of the most important factors is age. The sleeping hours tend to decrease as you age. Along with age as one factor, various factors that disturb your sleep are pregnancy, stress, waking up in the middle of the night, etc. A general idea of how much sleep you need every day is given in the table below-
| Age group | The required amount of sleep |
| 4 months to 1 year | 12-16 hours every day |
| 1- 2 years | 11-14 hours every day |
| 3-5 years | 10-13 hours every day |
| 6-12 years | 9-12 hours every day |
| 13- 18 years | 8-10 hours every day |
| Above 18 years | Minimum 7 hours a night |
Conclusion
Along with the maintenance of a healthy and balanced diet and workout routine, you must also consider getting the required amount of sleep. It is one of the most important pillars of your health. One of the most neglected things in your life can improve your overall health. It repairs your body and makes it ready for the next day. Not to forget the risks of major health issues it saves you from. Getting a minimum of 7 hours of sleep is a must for adults for a healthy lifestyle.
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