12 Benefits of a Good Night’s Sleep
A good sleep is essential for good health…
Some hate to get up, some never find the time to go to bed. Some sleep the moment their head touches the pillow, some toss and turn and have difficulty falling asleep. Some sleep deep, some are light sleepers.
Sleep, anathema to some, a dream for some…
Whatever one’s personal views or approach to it, sleep is essential for a lot of reasons.
Let’s look at some benefits of a good night’s sleep:
- Live longer: A 2010 study of women between the ages 50 to 79 discovered that women who slept six to six and a half hours per night lived longer. A good rest also improves the quality of life, makes one feel more fresh in the morning and ready to face the day with a better frame of mind.
- Better health: We take a good night’s sleep for granted. So we may not realize its benefits to health till we stop sleeping enough and experience health problems. Right from giddiness and vertigo, to serious health problems such as hypertension, heart diseases, diabetes and obesity, a whole range of diseases follow over a period.
- Overcomes inflammation: Good sleep can curb inflammation linked to heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and premature aging. Those who sleep for six or fewer hours a night tend to have higher blood levels of inflammatory proteins.
- Fights diseases: When you have something as common as the cold or fever, a good rest can help the body fight the infections and recover faster.
- Improves memory: Though you are asleep, your mind is processing information simultaneously. This improves memory and can improve mental health.
- Enhances creativity: Though it may seem as if the quiet of the night is the best time to let the creative juices flow, go to bed on time. The ideas get consolidated and improve as the brain reorganizes and restructures them, taking inputs from other experiences. Creativity gets a new meaning then.
- Better physical agility: A good night’s sleep is essential for those in performing arts as well as sports people. It reduces fatigue and improves stamina.
- Improves grades: Children who sleep well at night are more attentive and alert in class. Their learning improves and so do their grades.
- Manages weight: While diet and exercise are important, you can fight obesity better with proper sleep. According to research by the University of Chicago, dieters who rested well lost more fat—56% of their weight loss—than those who were sleep deprived. Those who slept less lost more muscle mass and tended to feel hungrier.
- Lowers stress: Sleep helps the mind relax and deal with stressful situations better. This will also help keep irritability, anxiety and depression at bay.
- Pain care: Those suffering from chronic pain can find better relief with sleep.
- Lower risk of accidents: Sleep deprivation can lead to disasters such as tripping, falling off a ladder, cutting yourself while chopping vegetables, or something even more serious disasters such as while driving. Dozing off behind the wheel and crashing is common and many accidents are caused because of this.
A good night’s sleep of six to eight hours is essential for physical and mental health, good quality of life as well as for keeping diseases at bay. So, if you tend to keep awake late, watching TV or reading a book, or just catching up on work, make it a point to go to bed early and rest. If you suffer from sleep disorders, get yourself checked to improve your sleep.
