Adequate sleep is crucial to your overall health and well-being. Getting enough rest can help your mental and physical stability as well as improve your quality of life. While it may seem like sleep is the last of your priorities, you can’t function without it… In fact, sleep deprivation is associated with high blood pressure, heart attack or failure, stroke, diabetes, depression, and obesity. So before you decide to skip out on some of those precious zzzs, consider these four benefits of sleep.
1. Sleep Helps You Maintain a Healthy Weight
A poor night’s rest is linked to weight gain. In fact, those who sleep less tend to weigh significantly more than those who sleep an adequate amount. (One study of 16 adults found that sleeping for just five hours a night resulted in an average weight gain of 1.8 pounds.) While weight gain isn’t always the biggest concern, it can lead to a whole host of other health issues and decrease your quality of sleep in the future, creating a vicious cycle.
2. Sleeping Boosts Your Mood
We’ve all been there. Grumpy after a poor night of sleep. This is because sleeping helps your body regulate emotions and lack of sleep can increase the number of negative reactions you have as opposed to positive ones. In the same vein, lack of sleep can even lead to mood disorders like depression, anxiety, and panic disorder. A good night’s sleep leaves you feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day: and that’s because your brain has time to improve your outlook and prepare you for the next day’s challenged.
3. Sleep Improves Your Focus
Sleep is crucial for learning and memory. In fact, if you don’t get enough of it, you probably experience a helluva lot of trouble focusing and taking in new information. Getting enough sleep helps your body complete consolidation, which is one of the three crucial memory functions. If you find you’re having trouble focusing, it might be time for a nap.
4. Sleep Decreases Your Risk of Injury
It’s no secret that while you sleep, your body repairs itself. That’s why sleep is crucial for maintaining athletic performance. Besides this, it also improves your performance intensity, gives you more energy, better coordination or speed, and increases your mental functioning. In order to see gains in your fitness routine, sleep is a crucial part of the process!
During this National Sleep Week, we highlight the importance of sleep for your everyday function! It’s not enough to do it when you can, you must maintain a healthy, adequate sleep schedule to see results! These four benefits of sleep are key!