Getting the proper amount of sleep and rest is crucial to your overall health and wellness. In fact, it is just as important as a healthy diet and exercise. Healthy sleep helps your body regulate hormones, helps enhance brain function when you are awake, allows your body time to rest and recover, and aids in boosting your immune system. These are just a few of the reasons that it is crucial to develop and maintain a good, healthy sleep schedule. Without a sleep schedule your immune system, physical, and mental health will deteriorate.
Sleep boosts cardiovascular health, aids in weight loss, and increases your metabolism. Your body requires this time to regulate your hormones and give you energy for the next day. Without this energy, you will have less motivation to exercise and with irregular hormones, you may desire to consume more food as an energy substitute. Sleep also enhances athletic performance. In studies, those with longer sleep times performed better, were faster, more accurate, and had better reaction times.
Sleep is incredibly important for your brain health. When you sleep longer hours and more regularly your brain will have enhanced cognition, concentration, productivity, and performance. Studies have shown that you will make fewer errors, have a better memory, and increased problem-solving skills with more sleep. Furthermore, lack of sleep may equate to your brain function when intoxicated. Increasing your sleep time will help increase your overall brain performance.
Less sleep has been linked to a higher risk for strokes and heart disease. Furthermore, it can make you predisposed to Type 2 Diabetes. Sleep is a great precautionary method to take to decrease your chances of heart disease. Getting a good 7-9 hours a night will help promote overall health and wellness, keep your blood sugar low, and your insulin levels in check.
Poor sleep has been linked to a decrease in the ability to recognize facial expressions, important social cues, and the ability to process emotional information. Furthermore, less sleep and depression have been linked as well. There is a significant decrease in overall well-being and social health with fewer hours of good sleep. To preserve your social and mental health it is crucial to protect your sleep.
You can improve your healthy sleep patterns by sticking to a good schedule, limiting caffeine intake, having a nighttime routine, and exercising to encourage melatonin production. These habits will help you maintain a manageable sleep schedule and ensure you get all the benefits from sleep. Aiming for 7-9 hours a night will help promote your mental health, physical fitness, lower your disease risk, and improve your brain health.