For your health, getting a good night’s sleep is crucial. In actuality, it’s equally essential to both a healthy diet and exercise.
Although everyone’s demands for sleep are different, the majority of individuals need between 7 and 9 hours per night. However, up to 35% of American people report not getting enough sleep.
It’s crucial that you focus and safeguard your sleep every day since sleep deprivation might jeopardize your health and safety.
You can read this post to learn the nine reasons why you should sleep more.
1. May help you maintain or lose weight
Short sleep, defined as sleeping for fewer than 7 hours per night, has been linked in several studies to a higher risk of weight growth and a lower body mass index (BMI).
In fact, a 2020 investigation discovered that persons with less than 7 hours of sleep each night had a startling 41% higher chance of being obese. Longer naps did not raise the risk, though.
Numerous elements, including hormones and the desire to exercise, are thought to have an impact on how much sleep contributes to weight gain.
For instance, lack of sleep causes ghrelin levels to rise while leptin levels fall. Leptin and ghrelin are two hormones that affect how hungry or full we feel. This could make us feel more hungry and overeat.
Numerous studies that have demonstrated that people who are sleep deprived have a larger appetite and prefer to eat more calories corroborate this.
Additionally, lack of sleep may make you seek meals that are higher in sugar and fat owing to their greater calorie content as a way to make up for a lack of energy.
To make matters worse, feeling exhausted after a night of insufficient sleep could make you lack the motivation to work out at the gym, take a stroll, or engage in any other physical activity you find enjoyable.
So, putting sleep first may help maintain a healthy body weight.
2. Can improve concentration and productivity
Different parts of brain function depend on sleep.
Lack of sleep has a detrimental impact on cognition, concentration, productivity, and performance.
A specific research on overworked doctors serves as an excellent illustration. It was shown that doctors who reported clinically significant medical mistakes were 54%, 96%, and 97% more likely to have moderate, high, or very high sleep-related impairment.
In a similar vein, children, teenagers, and young adults who get enough sleep do better in school.
The ability to solve problems and complete memory tasks are both improved by getting enough sleep, both in youngsters and adults.
3. Can maximize athletic performance
Sports performance has been demonstrated to be improved by sleep.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that getting enough sleep may improve problem-solving abilities, physical power, response time, and fine motor skills.
Additionally, getting too little sleep might make you more prone to accidents and less inclined to exercise.
Therefore, obtaining adequate sleep can be all you need to improve your performance.
4. May strengthen your heart
Your risk of getting heart disease may rise if you have poor quality or insufficient sleep.
Sleeping less than 7 hours a day raised the chance of dying from heart disease by 13%, according to one study of 19 research.
Another study discovered that, in comparison to 7 hours of sleep, each hour less was linked to a 6% higher risk of heart disease and all-cause death.
Furthermore, people who have obstructive sleep apnea, a disorder that is characterized by disrupted breathing while they sleep, tend to be more susceptible to high blood pressure, making longer sleep cycles riskier overall.
In fact, compared to those who slept for seven hours or more each night, persons who slept for fewer than five hours had a 61% greater chance of having high blood pressure.
It’s interesting to note that those who sleep more than 9 hours each night have a higher chance of developing high blood pressure and heart disease.
5. Affects sugar metabolism and type 2 diabetes risk
Short sleep is linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance, which is a condition in which your body has trouble using the hormone insulin.
In fact, a review of 36 research involving more than 1 million individuals revealed that getting less than 5 hours of sleep or less than 6 hours of sleep per night raised the risk of type 2 diabetes by 48% and 18%, respectively.
It is hypothesized that lack of sleep can lead to behavioral changes like poor decision-making and increased food consumption, as well as physiological changes including lower insulin sensitivity, increased inflammation, and changes in hunger hormones.
Additionally, a lack of sleep increases the chance of developing metabolic syndrome, obesity, and heart disease. These elements also raise your chance of developing diabetes.
6. Poor sleep is linked to depression
Sleeping problems and poor sleep quality are often related to mental health issues including depression.
According to a research involving 2,672 participants, people with anxiety and depression were more likely to report having worse sleep than people without these conditions.
According to other research, folks who experience sleeping problems like insomnia or obstructive sleep apnea also experience greater rates of depression than those who don’t.
It’s crucial to talk with your healthcare provider if you have difficulties sleeping and discover your mental health has gotten worse.
7. Supports a healthy immune system
The immune system has been proven to suffer from sleep deprivation.
A cold was 4.5 times more likely to strike a participant in a research who slept less than 5 hours per night than those who slept more than 7 hours. 5 to 6 hours of sleepers had a 4.24 times higher likelihood.
Additionally, some evidence indicates that getting enough sleep may enhance your body’s antibody reactions to influenza vaccinations.
According to recent preliminary evidence, obtaining enough rest both before and after having a COVID-19 immunization may increase the vaccine’s effectiveness. To fully comprehend this potential relationship, further study is still required.
8. Poor sleep is linked to increased inflammation
Insufficient sleep can significantly affect the body’s inflammatory response.
Our central nervous system is greatly regulated by sleep. It specifically affects the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, two stress-response systems.
Sleep deprivation, particularly sleep disruption, is known to activate inflammatory signaling pathways and increase levels of harmful inflammation indicators such interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein.
Numerous chronic illnesses, including as obesity, heart disease, certain forms of cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and type 2 diabetes, can develop over time as a result of chronic inflammation.
9. Affects emotions and social interactions
Losing sleep makes it harder to control your emotions and communicate with others.
We struggle more when we’re exhausted to regulate our public displays of emotion and conduct. We may be less able to respond to comedy and demonstrate empathy when we are tired.
Additionally, those who consistently lack sleep are more inclined to withdraw from social gatherings and feel lonely.
Making sleep a priority might help you become more social and enhance your connections with others.
Never be reluctant to ask a friend, family member, or healthcare provider for help if you experience loneliness or emotional outbursts. View the resources on this list to learn more.
Lack of sleep can be dangerous
For both you and other people, not getting enough sleep may be risky.
Our capacity to concentrate on activities, our reflexes, and our response times all suffer when we are sleepy. In fact, having a significant lack of sleep is similar to drinking too much alcohol.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 25 drivers have dozed off behind the wheel. Less than six hours of sleep the night before increased the risk of falling asleep behind the wheel.
According to a 2018 research, the probability of causing an automobile collision was 1.3, 1.9, 2.9, and 15.1 times greater, respectively, for persons who slept for 6, 5, 4, or less than 4 hours. According to this study, each hour of sleep deprivation greatly raises your chance of being in an automobile accident.
Additionally, according to the CDC, remaining awake for longer than 18 hours is equivalent to having a blood alcohol level (BAC) of 0.05%. This grows to 1.00% after 24 hours, which is too high to drive.
Lack of sleep may raise the risk of occupational injuries and mistakes in addition to the dangers related with driving.
Overall, sound sleep is essential for everyone’s safety.