Apart from eating healthy and exercising, healthy sleep is one other thing you have to have to maintain good health. A healthy life has many benefits that are ranging from mental wellness to physical wellness.
Healthy sleep helps your body in so many ways, and this article will show you its importance. It will also be showing you the dangers of unhealthy sleeping and how to sleep more healthily.
Mental Benefits of Sleep
A person who is well rested and who sleeps well processes and retains memory better. This is because rest plays a vital role when it comes to cognition. As the brain gets new information, how it consolidates them is through the strengthening of neural connections.
These strengthened connections in the brain are what help the brain to remember information. Based on various studies, it has been discovered that lack of proper rest has adverse effects on the person’s ability to stay alert, his mood, cognitive ability and even the immune functions. When a person gets adequate sleep, it is less likely that that person will get moody or grumpy.
Good sleep also fuels productivity in people. They tend to make better decisions and are not prone to making mistakes. When people who lack adequate sleep claim to perform well enough even without sleep, it is because they can’t really process and understand how low their performance is.
Researchers have discovered that when people go 17-19 hours without sleep, they become 50% slower in performance. This phenomenon is similar in people that take alcohol and drugs too.
Long Term Mental Effects
Lack of adequate sleep usually manifests itself in the form of low cognition. The person experiences a reduction in his ability to learn and retain memory. This s because a person who refuses to sleep adequately over-works his neurons. Thus, the neurons become unable to coordinate information as they should.
Lack of sleep also affects a person’s ability to make sound judgments. It becomes difficult for the person to act, plan or behave correctly. However, lack of adequate sleep also has more adverse effects. It could result in hallucinations, loss of long-term memory, depression, and psychosis.
Therefore, it is evident that sleep is a vital part of staying alive and staying healthy. When you invest in sleep, you invest in your health and your future as well.
A well-rested person recalls information with ease, makes good judgments, learns quickly and accurately, enjoy increased alertness and stays focused. Apart from this, you get to enjoy a cheerful mood and remain happy.
Sleep and physiology
Sleep is not only great for your mental health, but it also works wonders for your physical well-being as well. It has been ascertained that lack of sleep points to various physical health issues. Sicknesses such as hypertension, high blood pressure, heart attacks and cardiovascular disease all link, in one way or the other, to insufficient sleep.
When one doesn’t get proper rest, the molecules which control immune response increases and begins to affect the immune system. As a result, inflammation and changes in blood chemistry start to occur. According to researchers this turn of events is somewhat related to the development of various diseases, including, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and some neurological conditions.
In terms of body weight, sleep has both a physical and behavioral relationship with its control. Lack of rest and sleep has a way of regulating the appetite of a person through the production of ghrelin. By doing this, it stops the body from sending a signal that it is full; thus, there is an increase in appetite. However, when one is tired, it is unlikely that that person would want to prepare a proper meal or perform any exercise. A bored person usually craves food that has a high-fat level. The person ends up eating junks which will enable him or her to gain excessive weight. Thus, a person who doesn’t sleep well will likely gain too much weight.
On the other hand, a well-rested person enjoys a synchronized and cohesive body system. Such a person is less likely to fall sick or suffer from any of the illnesses caused by insufficient sleep. The person will have healthy muscles and neurons that work optimally. Ultimately, good sleep helps to elongate one’s lifespan.
Getting Healthy Sleep
Since we have seen how vital, healthy sleeping is, it is also essential to know how to sleep healthily. However, you can only start sleeping the way that you should when you make it a priority. A good sleeping habit starts with prioritizing sleep as not only being vital to your well-being but also being crucial to your future. Thus, you need to get rid of everything in the way of your sleep. Know that your mental and physical well-being is at stake without the right amount of sleep.
One other thing that will help you get good sleep is a relaxed and peaceful setting. Go somewhere quiet and peaceful, make sure no one will disturb you there. You can also darken the room to make it more comfortable. Take a warm bath, read a book. Make sure that your mattress is convenient for you, if not, buy a tri fold sleeping mat or 6 inch memory foam mattress queen.
Good sleep will not only elongate your life, but it will also add quality to it. Eat well, exercise well, and sleep well. With these three things, you’re bound to have a healthy life.