Sleep

YES PLEASE

How is your sleep? Here are 10 reasons why good sleep is important.

There is nothing better than a good night’s sleep. It only takes one bad night’s 1. Poor sleep is linked to higher body weight. In fact, in one extensive review study,
sleep to remind us how much our bodies and minds depend on it. When we are children and adults with short sleep duration were 89% and 55% more likely to develop
tired, we are simply not ourselves- emotionally, physically, and mentally. As the obesity, respectively. Two reasons for this include hormones and the lack of motivation
to exercise.
Irish Proverb goes, “Go to bed and you’ll feel better tomorrow” is the human version
2. Good sleepers tend to eat fewer calories. Poor sleep affects hormones that regulate
of “Did you try turning it off and on again?”.
appetite. Those who get adequate sleep tend to eat fewer calories than those who
Sometimes a good laugh followed by a long sleep can be the best cures for
don’t.
anything.
3. Good sleep can improve concentration and productivity. Sleep is important for various
aspects of brain function. This includes cognition, concentration, productivity, and
The importance of sleep
performance. Poor sleep has been shown to impair brain function. One study showed
that this can be to a similar degree as alcohol intoxication.
Sleep is just as important for your physical and mental health as eating healthily 4. Good sleep can maximize athletic and physical performance. Longer sleep has been
and exercising. shown to significantly improve speed, accuracy, reaction times, and mental well-being.
5. According to studies, poor sleepers, or sleeping less than 7-8 hours per night, have a
greater risk of heart disease and stroke.
6. Poor sleep habits are also strongly linked to adverse effects on blood sugar and type 2
diabetes in the general population.
7. Mental health issues, such as depression and suicide, are strongly linked to poor sleep
quality and sleeping disorders.
8. Sleep improves your immune function.
9. Poor sleep is linked to increased inflammation and cell damage.
10. Sleep affects emotions negatively and hinders your ability to interact socially.
Researchers believe that poor sleep affects your ability to recognize important social
cues and process emotional information.

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 Sleep
YES PLEASE

How much sleep do we need?

is a much-needed pillar of typically require less sleep to function properly.

health: both mentally and Some sleep specialists, however, will recommend that what is more important is how
many sleep cycles we have in a night. This suggests that the type of sleep we get is more
important than the hours of sleep we get.
physically. According to Alaska Sleep, ‘When we sleep, our body goes through five specific stages as
noted by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Each stage
accumulates to REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, and then restarts, completing one
cycle. The first stage through to REM takes about 90 minutes to complete, and adults
typically need to complete at least four or five sleep cycles per night, or 6 to 9 total hours
of sleep.’
This means that an adult would need to complete 4-5 sleep cycles in their entirety to feel
fully rested. And although this means about 6 to 9 hours of sleep; if sleep is disturbed or of
a poor quality, 6 to 9 hours of sleep doesn’t always mean you have successfully completed
4-5 seep cycles.

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 Sleep
YES PLEASE

The importance of a sleep routine

Like our minds thrive off routine, so do our bodies. Keeping a regular sleep schedule—
This sleep-wake cycle is dictated by our circadian rhythm. This is an internal biological
even on weekends—maintains the timing of the body’s internal clock and can help
clock that regulates various body processes over a 24-hour period. Light, time, and
you fall asleep and wake up more easily. Follow a set bedtime and wake-up time.
melatonin are the main factors that impact the circadian rhythm. Therefore, inconsistent
You may even want to start using your sleep cycle as an alarm clock. Since sleep
bedtimes and wake-times may disrupt one’s circadian rhythm and therefore their sleep
cycles last for 90 minutes, set your morning alarm to wake you up after the last
cycles and quality of sleep. In fact, your sleep routine begins the moment you wake-up.
completed cycle. For example, if you’re going to bed at 10:30PM and need to wake
Your body will learn when it is time to go to sleep and when it is time to wake up: making
up at 6:30AM, set your alarm clock to 6AM. instead to account for 90-minute sleep
both these processes a lot easier and more enjoyable.
cycle intervals. Even though you lose 30 minutes of sleep, you should find your body
will feel more rested having wakened after completing REM sleep.

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