One of the best things to ensure you remain healthy is to get a good night’s sleep. Many people are surprised to find that sleep is just as important as eating a healthy diet and getting daily exercise. Health officials recommend getting between seven and nine hours of sleep each night. If you are not getting an ample amount of sleep, you could not be living your healthiest.
In order to get the recommended amount of sleep, you must develop a bedtime routine, complete with a time you go to bed and a time when you wake up each morning. Using room darkening blinds or curtains, limiting caffeine consumption past lunch, and turning off electronics a few hours before bedtime can help you get to sleep and stay asleep.
During sleep, your body recovers from the demands you have placed on it during the day. Hormones are created, memories are consolidated, and repairs are made to the cells and tissues in the body. Let’s look at the numerous ways that sleep can help improve your health and well-being.
- Sleep Deprivation Affects Hormone Levels – When you do not get enough sleep, your body cannot produce the amount of hormones needed to maintain good health. Vita Living offers various supplements to help support your entire body.
- Depression and Sleep Deprivation – Sleeping disorders and poor sleep increase the risk of mental health issues, including depression. Furthermore, there is an increased risk of suicide in patients who get less than the recommended amount of sleep.
- Improve Productivity and Concentration Levels with a Good Night’s Sleep – Sleep is vital to your brain health. When you get enough sleep, your performance, productivity, cognition, and concentration will improve. Studies have shown that sleep deprivation reduces problem solving skills and memory in children and adults.
- Inflammation and Sleep – Sleep loss can cause inflammation throughout the body, especially in the digestive tract. If you are not getting enough sleep, you are at an increased risk of developing an inflammatory bowel disease.
- Sleep Issues and Poor Immunity – Did you know that losing even a small amount of sleep can impair your immune function? Individuals who get less than seven hours of sleep are at an increased risk of developing a cold when compared to individuals getting eight hours or more of sleep each night. If you currently are not getting the recommended amount of sleep, contact an insomnia doctor.
- Poor Sleep Increases the Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes – Not getting enough sleep can impact your glucose levels and can reduce insulin sensitivity. In addition to this, sleeping less than six hours each night increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
- Sleep Deprivation Increases the Risk of Stroke and Heart Disease – How long you sleep and how well you sleep can increase the risk of heart disease or stroke. Not getting a full night’s sleep increases blood pressure levels and systemic inflammation, which can affect your cardiovascular health.
- Sleep Enhances Athletic Performance – Sleep can help improve athletic performance in several ways. When you get enough sleep, your speed, reaction times, and accuracy improve significantly. Conversely, not getting enough sleep has been linked to decreased grip strength, difficulty performing daily activities, and slower walking.
- Sleep and Social Skills – Not getting enough sleep can reduce your ability to recognizes expressions of happiness or anger. It can also reduce your ability to recognizes social cues and process emotional information correctly.
- Not Getting Enough Sleep Can Increase Your Body Weight – When you get less than the recommended amount of sleep each night, you are at an increased risk of a higher body weight. Short sleep slows down your metabolism, which can increase weight gain.
Many people find it difficult to get a full night’s sleep; however, the dangers of sleep deprivation are serious. Insufficient sleep increases your risk of developing numerous medical conditions, including depression, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Therefore it is essential that you take the steps necessary to get the sleep you need. You may need to make some lifestyle changes to ensure you are getting the recommended amount of sleep, including going to bed at the same time each night, turning electronics off a few hours before bedtime, and avoiding caffeine in the evening hours.