We all know that sleep is essential and that we should each aim for at least seven hours of it per night.
But why is sleep beneficial? How can it support both our physical and mental health?
Let’s dive in and find out.
1. Sleep Supports Weight Maintenance and Weight Loss
Studies have shown that sleeping for less than seven hours per night over a long period of time can lead to increased BMI.
Sleep deprivation can increase the level of ghrelin in your body, a hormone that’s responsible for hunger. Tiredness from lack of sleep can also make you less motivated to exercise and stay active, therefore leading to fewer calories being burned in the long term.
Feeling tired can also lead to more snacking throughout the day, and can cause you to crave foods that are high in fat and sugar, or heavily processed.
Sleeping for at least seven hours a night, therefore, can help you maintain a healthy weight.
2. Sleep Can Improve Your Workout
Sleep has been shown to enhance your athletic performance when it comes to working out. Having adequate sleep can positively impact energy levels, motor skills, muscular endurance and problem-solving skills, which come together to improve your performance in sports and exercise.
On the other hand, sleeping badly negatively impacts energy levels and muscular endurance, so making sure you get adequate sleep is crucial for keeping your workout routine on track.
3. Sleep Can Help You Stay Focused
Cognition, concentration, and focus are all improved by having adequate sleep. Sleep has been shown to improve academic performance in children, and some scientists believe that a lack of sleep can increase the chance of developing brain-related disorders in old age.
With this in mind, it’s crucial to invest in some shut-eye for your brain’s short and long term health.
4. Sleep Improves Your Mental Health
Mental health concerns such as depression and anxiety can be worsened by a lack of sleep. Insomnia can be difficult to live with, and feelings of frustration around lack of sleep can lead to poor mental health outcomes.
To improve mental wellbeing, aim for at least seven hours of sleep per night.
5. Sleep Keeps Your Immune System Healthy
Getting at least seven hours of sleep per night has been shown to improve immune response, making your body better equipped to fight off infections such as the common cold.
Since adequate sleep keeps your body generally healthy and reduces stress levels, it makes sense that these positive health outcomes would affect your immune system too. On the other hand, lack of sleep can impair immune response, so keeping on top of sleep is crucial for fighting off illness.
6. Sleep Can Reduce Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
Lack of sleep has been associated with higher chances of developing type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. This is partly because lack of sleep can disrupt our hunger hormones, as well as our decision-making abilities.
When we’re feeling hungry and our ability to make healthy decisions is compromised, it’s natural that we’d reach for the snack cupboard. Long-term, this can lead to insulin resistance which develops into type 2 diabetes.
7. Sleep Can Keep Inflammation At Bay
Sleep is a key player in regulating our central nervous system, particularly our stress-response systems. These are known as the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.
When we don’t get adequate sleep, inflammatory signalling pathways are activated and lead to high levels of inflammatory markers.
If inflammation repeats over time, it will eventually transform from acute inflammation to chronic inflammation. This chronic inflammation can increase the chance of long-term health concerns including cancers, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s.
To reduce your body’s inflammation, combine sleep with regular exercise and healthy food to form a healthy lifestyle.
8. Sleep Helps to Manage Your Mood
Studies have shown that if we lose sleep, our ability to control emotional outbursts is compromised. This can lead to abrupt behaviour which can affect our relationships with others.
If you’re suffering from insomnia or sleep loss, you may be more likely to withdraw socially, and this isolation can negatively impact your mood further. Aim for adequate sleep every night to boost your mood and support your social interactions.
The Bottom Line
It’s clear that sleeping well improves our health in a myriad of ways. But how do we ensure we get adequate sleep?
Prioritising sleep is key, as is setting a clear sleep pattern so that your body’s circadian rhythm gets used to it. Investing in an adjustable bed is a great way to instantly improve the quality of your sleep, since it reduces snoring, sleep apnea, and back discomfort - all factors which can negatively impact sleep.
Start investing in your sleep tonight and you’ll see huge health improvements in no time.
