Sleep is a necessary part of a person’s health and wellbeing. However, millions of people do not get enough shut-eye each night and suffer the consequences. It might seem obvious that getting proper rest is beneficial. Without fully knowing what it does for us, we realize that a lack of sleep for too long makes us feel awful, and getting a good night’s rest can make us feel ready for the day.
So what is so important about sleep? To understand this, you should consider your body like a factory which performs various vital functions. As you drift off to dreamland, your body starts its night-shift work including healing damaged cells, recovering from the activities of the day, boosting your immune system, and recharging your heart and cardiovascular system for the next day. Small changes to your diet, exercise routine and sleep schedule can make a big difference, along with tweaking external factors such as keeping your room cool at night and regularly changing your mattress and pillows.
Craig Schmeizer, Co-Founder of Nectar Sleep, is a firm believer that a sturdy mattress can make or break the quality of one’s slumber. "While some people are side sleepers or prefer to lay on their back or stomach, one thing sleepers of all kinds can agree on is that having a solid mattress from edge to edge creates the most comfortable night's rest.” According to Schmeizer, many spring mattresses sag at the edges and if you move around in your sleep you risk waking up with a stiff neck or back from laying on the “bad side of the bed.” Schmeizer suggests picking a mattress that gives you full support on the edges and stays consistently firm no matter how you choose to lay. By doing this, it will help you stay asleep longer and relax your body to help you fall asleep faster.
The Cycle of Sleep
This cycle consists of two phases which are recurring: NREM or non-rapid eye movement, and REM, or rapid eye movement. Both are important for various functions of our bodies.
NREM occupies the most of your sleep each night, totaling 75 to 80 percent. A lot of health benefits take place during this time such as restored energy, tissue repair and growth, and the restoration of hormones which are needed for development and growth.
REM takes up just 25 percent of your night. When dreaming happens, it is essential to our minds for processing and consolidating memories, emotions, and stress. It is thought to be vital for stimulating the areas of your brain used for learning and developing new skills.
When these cycles are interrupted several times during the night, you miss out on vital processes of the body, affecting your well-being and health not only the next day, but in the long term.
Emotional Well-Being and Healthy Brain Function
Sleep keeps your brain working properly. Your brain prepares for the next day while you doze, forming new pathways to assist you in learning and remembering information. Studies have shown that the right amount of rest improves learning, no matter what you are studying, from math, to driving, to playing the piano. It enhances your problem-solving skills and learning, plus, helps you pay attention, be creative, and make decisions.
A lack of slumber alters the activin in some areas of your brain. You may find it difficult to solve problems, make decisions, control your behavior and emotions, and cope with change. It has also been linked to suicide, depression, and risk-taking behavior.
Teens and children who are sleep deprived could have trouble getting along with peers. They may feel impulsive and angry, sad or depressed, have mood swings, or lack motivation. They could also have difficulty paying attention, feel stressed and get lower grades.
Daytime Safety and Performance
Quality rest is important to be productive at school and work. If you don't get enough, you could find yourself taking longer to finish tasks, making more mistakes, and having slower reaction times. After many nights of this, even just one to two hours at a time, your ability to function suffers like you haven’t slept at all for a day or two.
People are not always aware of the risks of sleep deficiency. They might not even realize they are missing out, as they could still think they are functioning well even when they are getting poor-quality or limited rest. Drowsy drivers might feel alert enough to drive; however, studies show that lacking the right amount of sleep harms your ability to drive as much as, or more than, being drunk. It can also affect all lines of work, including pilots, health care workers, mechanics, lawyers, and assembly line workers.
Sleep deprivation can therefore cause large-scale damage, and play a role in tragic accidents like the grounding of large ships, nuclear reactor meltdowns, and aviation accidents.
Physical Health
Slumber also plays an important role in your physical health. It is involved in repairing your blood vessels and heart. An ongoing deficiency is linked to an increase in kidney disease, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and stroke. It also increases the chance of obesity.
You can maintain a healthy balance of hormones that make you feel hungry or full with the right amount of sleep. When you don’t have enough, your level of ghrelin, your hunger hormone, goes up and your leptin, your full hormone, decreases. In other words, you feel hungrier.
Healthy growth and development are also supported. A deep sleep triggers your body to release a hormone which promotes normal growth in teens and children. It also helps repair cells and tissues, and boosts muscle mass in teens children, and adults. Rest plays a role in fertility and puberty as well.
To stay healthy, your immune system must have the proper repose. It defends your body against harmful and foreign substances. An ongoing deficiency changes the way in which your immune system responds. You could, for example, have difficulty in fighting common infections.
A tremendous strain on your body, nervous system, and overall health can occur from night after night of restless sleep. It is important to speak with your doctor and ask if a sleep study is right for you if you are not feeling rested or are not sleeping well.