6 Sleep Benefits: How Sleep Can Improve Your Life

Sleep is important. A good sleep not only gives you proper rest but also helps improve your life. There are many benefits of sleep that often go unnoticed. Sleep can really help us live a healthy life. All that is required is sound awareness and good sleep habits. Here are some sleep benefits that you should know to make good and full sleep a priority in your life. ~ Ed.

I’m sure you’ll agree to this – sleep is essential to us, and it affects our quality of lives.

We all know that we should get between seven and nine hours of rest at night. However, most of us don’t know why. Many people are not familiar with all the benefits that sleep has.

Of course, all of us know that we wake up full of energy in the morning after getting enough shut-eye at night. We also know that we are usually more productive when well-rested. These are some of the most common benefits that people are aware of, but a good night’s rest affects the quality of our lives in many other ways.

Unfortunately, sleep deprivation has become quite common in today’s society. It is normal to sacrifice sleep to do other things, or, indeed, are too wired to concentrate on sleeping.

Whether you’re super stressed at work, have a lot going on at home, or are unwell or suffering with period cramps that keep you up half the night (which Knix can help with, by the way), sleep deprivation is an all too common occurrence for most of us.

Sleep Deprivation is Not Good

Of course, in some situations, this behavior is entirely understandable, and even necessary. For example, when we have limited free time and need to work on an important project or meet a deadline, it is necessary to sacrifice sleep so that we can make it happen.

However, in some cases, rest deprivation is unjustifiable. Sometimes people sleep only a couple of hours because they stay up late playing video games, watching movies, and chatting on social media networks.

It is not a good idea to sacrifice sleep because of unjustified reasons as it can have an adverse impact on your health and well-being.

The main problem in today’s society is that we take sleep for granted. Although it is essential to our well-being, we don’t pay enough attention to it and tend to underestimate its importance. This behavior can have serious adverse effects on our lives, especially if it continues for a prolonged period.

When was the last time you assessed your sleeping habits? You need to understand the sleep benefits to give more importance to sleep.

6 Benefits of Sleep That Facilitate a Healthy Life

Sleep matters because of a variety of reasons, and you need to be aware of them to make it your priority.

Sleep Can Help You Lose Weight

It is not a secret that many people all over the world struggle with being overweight. Losing extra pounds can be a quite difficult and long-lasting process.

No one can expect to get rid of the excess weight overnight. Achieving this goal can take months, even years, depending on how many pounds a person wants to lose.

We all know that the key to a successful weight loss is eating healthily and exercising regularly. However, most of us don’t know that, in order to lose weight, we also need to get a decent amount of sleep. Poor sleep is linked to weight gain, and it is a risk factor for obesity.

Eating Healthy

When we are deprived of sleep, our bodies produce more hormone ghrelin. This hormone is responsible for stimulating appetite. Our appetite is increased when we are rest-deprived, and so are cravings for unhealthy foods.

We are more tempted by junk food and processed meals when we are not properly rested. If you want to lose weight, you need to make sleep your top priority. Otherwise, you will be prone to consuming fast food, which certainly won’t help you get rid of the extra pounds.

When we sleep enough at night, we are more likely to eat healthily as we won’t crave for unhealthy meal choices.

Physical Activity

Another way in which enough rest at night can help you lose weight is that you will be more likely to engage in physical activity.

When a person sleeps only a couple of hours, he or she won’t look forward to exercising, and there is no losing weight without working out. On the other hand, when someone gets at least 7 hours of shut-eye, exercising won’t be difficult.

People usually can’t wait to work out if they are well-rested. They also have more energy, which means that their workouts will last longer, and they will burn more calories. And we all know that the key to weight loss is burning calories.

Sleep Can Reduce the Risk of Diabetes

Many people all over the world have diabetes. Although sleep deprivation can’t cause it, it is a major contributing factor to type 2 diabetes.

If you are not sure what the connection between these two is, here is an explanation – the lack of rest impairs sugar and insulin metabolism, which not only contributes to weight gain but also to the development of diabetes.

On the other hand, when a person is well-rested, insulin and blood sugar levels are kept under control. This reduces the risk of developing this medical condition.

If you want to keep your insulin levels and production in check, you should get enough good night’s rest. The chances that you will get diabetes are lower if you sleep a recommended number of hours on a regular basis.

Sleep Reduces the Risk of Heart Disease

You need to keep in mind that the quality and duration of good night’s rest can have a severe impact on your health. Chronic sleep deprivation can be very dangerous to your health as it increases the chances of heart disease and stroke.

People who are rest-deprived are at a far higher risk of stroke or heart disease compared to those who sleep at least 7 hours per night. High blood pressure is mainly to blame for these cardiovascular issues. Our blood pressure levels tend to rise when we lack rest.

On the other hand, when we get enough quality shut-eye, the blood pressure is under control and within the normal limits. This reduces the chances of dangerous cardiovascular issues.

As you can see, sleep is vital as it reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke. If you want to stay healthy for many years to come, you should make it your top priority and try to get a recommended amount of shut-eye as often as you can.

Sleep Can Improve Your Immunity

If you often get colds or suffer from similar issues, you may want to re-evaluate your sleep habits.

Some people get sick more often than others, and the reason for this may be impaired immunity. You should keep in mind that even a small loss of sleep can impair your immune function.

If you want to stay healthy, you should try to get more shut-eye at night. Although it is not a guarantee that your health will be good, it will certainly boost your immune system and make you less likely to catch a cold.

Another very helpful thing is to eat more garlic as it is healthy and has a positive impact on your body’s ability to fight the common cold.

Sleep Affects Social Interactions

When we lack rest, we are less likely to interact socially. Something like this is quite normal as we are simply less interested in engaging in social interactions.

Most of us are also nervous when we are deprived of rest, and more prone to reacting negatively to minor interruptions and annoyances.

Sleep-deprived individuals also have troubles recognizing expressions of happiness and anger, and their ability to process emotional information is affected.

Sleep Improves Productivity and Concentration

When we get a fair share of good night’s rest, it is easier for us to stay concentrated on what we are doing at the moment. Sleep is critical to various aspects of brain functions, including productivity, concentration, performance, and cognition.

Our lack of rest adversely affects these functions. If you get enough shut-eye, you will notice that you are more productive than usual and capable of handling work-related challenges better.

The key to overcoming different challenges successfully is to concentrate on them adequately, which is almost impossible when a person is tired. Sleep also enhances memory performance and improves problem-solving skills.

Related Read: 10 Things You Should Avoid Before Going to Bed

Wrapping Up – How to Get Enough Sleep?

Unfortunately, some people have a hard time falling asleep in the evening and staying asleep throughout the night.

Various factors can contribute to this behavior, and the most common one is stress.

Many people have busy schedules and are under a lot of stress on a regular basis. As a result, some of them have troubles drifting off to dreamland at night.

It is not easy to relax and fall asleep when you need to worry about clients’ wishes and meeting deadlines. However, besides trying to relax in the evening, there is not much left to do to avoid work-related pressure.

Another critical factor that contributes to rest deprivation is the improper sleep environment.

Sometimes it is not easy to drift off to dreamland because we are not comfortable in our beds. The proper comfort and support are keys to quality sleep.

Luckily, if you want to improve your quality of rest, you can make a few changes in your bedroom. Replacing your uncomfortable pillows, mattresses, and even sheets will do the trick and help you get a good night’s rest that you deserve.

If you have troubles choosing the right products, unbiased real mattress reviews can help you make the right decision. You should also remove all electronic devices from your bedroom as the blue light that they emit can disrupt your sleep cycles.

Over to you –

Are these sleep benefits convincing enough to make you change your sleep habits for the better? Share your doubts and thoughts in the comments.