20 Benefits of Adequate Sleep

It’s no secret that you need sleep for your body and mind to function optimally. What many of us don’t realize is how important it is for learning and memory. Yes, you have to get enough sleep for your health, but there are several key reasons we need sleep.

20 Benefits of Sleep

1) Helps strengthen learning/memory.

Sleep helps you learn new information faster and remember it longer. During your sleep, you consolidate all the new information and make it part of your permanent memory. You can learn a lot of new information in one night, but if you don’t get enough sleep, you may not remember the new information.

Sleep deprivation can disrupt memory retention, and long-term sleep deficits can lead to permanent memory problems.

2) Improves performance.

People who get enough sleep have shown better cognitive performance and faster reaction times at work or school than those who don’t. When people are well-rested, they can focus more clearly on tasks they’re doing—improved ability to perform daily activities. Sleep loss can make it difficult to concentrate, reducing the amount of work that you get done on time.

Getting enough sleep is vital for people who participate in extracurricular activities because it helps them feel they have the energy to do well in their actions and classes.

3) Helps regulate mood.

Like the brain, your body needs to rest and restore energy after a hard day. Sleep is also vital for keeping your mental health balanced. Sleep helps you feel more relaxed and happy, helping you think clearly and make better decisions when you’re awake.

4) Helps prevent cancer and other diseases.

Getting enough sleep not only reduces the risk of heart disease; it may also cut the risk of many types of cancer. Getting enough sleep may be the most crucial step you can take to protect your health.

Helps prevent and treat cancer. Lack of sleep increases the risk of certain types of cancer, improves the effectiveness of treatment, and can reduce the amount of time people with cancer spend in pain.

5) Helps maintain physical and emotional well-being.

If you don’t get enough sleep, all sorts of health problems may arise. You’ll feel cranky and tired, your immune system will weaken, and you’ll be at increased risk for accidents and illness. Also, lack of sleep fluctuates with moods, making it a poor source for self-talk about emotions and stress.

6) Reduces stress.

When you don’t get enough sleep, your body’s ability to fight off stress is weakened. Stress causes the release of hormones and chemicals in the body that interfere with immune system functioning. Sleep deprivation can make you more vulnerable to colds, infections, and other diseases.

It helps you respond to stress. When you’re stressed, your body releases adrenaline and other hormones, which can cause your heart rate to increase and make it harder for you to think clearly or focus on what’s in front of you. Getting enough sleep limits your body’s response to stress by calming these hormonal changes down.

Deep, restful sleep provides the time your body needs to relax and rejuvenate after a stressful day. Sleep deprivation also leads to higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

Stress hormones are released into the bloodstream when we are sleep-deprived, increasing the risk of disease and illness by causing increased blood pressure and heart rate.

7) Improves quality of life and longevity.

Adequate sleep is vital for leading a healthy, well-balanced life. But just as important, sleep helps people live longer than those who don’t get enough sleep at night.

It helps you live longer. Research from the University of Warwick shows that people who consistently get less than six hours of sleep per night are more at risk for early death than those who get at least seven hours a night.

Sleep deprivation shortens your lifespan by increasing the risk of heart attacks, diabetes, and several other diseases, all of which are linked to a shortened lifespan.

8) Helps maintain a healthy weight.

When you don’t get enough sleep, you may be more likely to snack and eat unhealthy foods that are quick to consume but full of calories and fat.

Sleep plays an essential role in your ability to control blood sugar levels and avoid overeating or craving foods that are not healthy. Sleep deprivation can lead people to eat more than they need, and it can also lead them to crave carbohydrates more often than other foods.

9) Helps avoid mood disorders.

Many people with depression or bipolar disorder have sleep problems and as many as 70% of adults who commit suicide show signs of insomnia. Improving sleep can help regulate moods and give you a better chance to avoid serious conditions such as depression.

Getting enough sleep can help reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. And it may also help people who are prone to self-critical thoughts about how they feel and what they think. Sleep deprivation is associated with negative emotions such as anger, sadness, anxiety, and irritability.

Sleep deprivation is associated with depression and anxiety disorders, while adequate sleep encourages feelings of well-being and improves mood.

10) Adequate sleep improves reaction time.

Sleep deprivation slows reaction time and judgment, leading to a greater risk of accidents that occur due to inattention. Helps prevent accidents. A 2009 study found that people with sleep apnea are five times more likely to crash their cars than those without the condition.

Lack of sleep has been linked with poorer performance on tasks that require motor coordination. Sleep deprivation may also be a factor in many common accidents, such as fender benders.

11) Reduces inflammation.

Sleep may also be vital because it reduces inflammation in your body. Inflammation is a process that helps your immune system fight off infections. When you don’t get enough sleep, there are fewer hormones released that help your body to regulate this process properly. Inflammation is dangerous because it can cause high blood pressure, heart disease, and cancer.

12) Prevents Type 2 Diabetes.

Sleep may help regulate blood sugar levels by reducing the amount of insulin your body produces during the day. People who don’t get enough sleep have more difficulty controlling their blood sugar after eating and have a greater risk of becoming diabetic.

Sleep deprivation makes it more difficult to control blood sugar levels, which can eventually lead to diabetes. People with diabetes are often advised to go to bed earlier to help control blood sugar.

13) Helps reduce the risk of depression.

Research studies suggest that sleep plays a role in the development of depression. The researchers hypothesize that insufficient sleep can disrupt the normal balance between two systems in the brain, which are known to play an important role in regulating our moods: one system regulates our ability to experience positive emotions and to engage with the world around us, while the other system deals with negative emotions and stress. Sleep may restore the equilibrium between these two systems, thus improving mood and treating depression.

These systems are: The brain’s neural network and its hormonal system are linked. Both are controlled by the hypothalamus, a little part of the brain that is responsible for regulating virtually all the processes in our bodies.

14) Maintains teeth and bones in aging adults.

Lack of sleep may make you more inclined to overeat and drink sugary beverages, which can increase your risk for broken bones, gum problems, and tooth loss.

15 Helps balance hormones.

Getting enough sleep is vital for maintaining a healthy balance of hormones in your body, and problems regulating hormone levels are common in women who suffer from premenstrual syndrome (PMS). The longer a woman goes without sleep, the more likely her body is to develop hormone imbalances.

16) Helps fight infections.

Sleep helps your body create infection-fighting white blood cells, which are more effective during sleep. Getting enough sleep can help the body fight off bacterial and viral infections more quickly.

17) Reduces the risk of a heart attack.

Studies show that people who get less than five hours of sleep each night have a greater chance of dying from a heart attack or stroke and that a long-term lack of sleep can cause permanent damage to the heart.

18) Helps to slow aging.

Sleep deprivation speeds up the aging process, and sleep is the single most effective way to slow down aging and prevent disease. There is no other bodily function in the human body that is crucial to maintaining both physical and mental health as sleep.

19) Helps regulate the nervous system.

People who have epilepsy can have hundreds or even thousands of seizures during the night while they’re sleeping, and sleep deprivation has been shown to increase the risk for these seizures.

Studies have suggested that sleep may slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and ALS. Also, lack of sleep has been linked with depression in Alzheimer’s patients.

20) Helps prevent cancer, heart disease, stroke, and numerous other health problems.

Lack of sleep is linked with a higher risk for cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. It’s also been linked to headaches, high blood pressure, and depression.

It helps relieve pain and discomfort when you’re sick or injured. Sleep is the best natural pain reliever, and it can also help boost your immune system and support healing.

In Summary

You can see from the twenty benefits of getting enough sleep how vital and lifesaving sleep is. The problem is that most people don’t get enough sleep. On average, today’s adults sleep less than they did over 50 years ago, and a third of the U.S. population gets fewer than six hours of sleep each night.

If you’re not getting enough sleep, you need to make it a priority tonight. Look at the list of the 20 reasons to get enough sleep and post it somewhere you can see when you go to bed at night.

The National Sleep Foundation says people should aim for 7–9 hours of sleep each night. It also recommends 2–3 naps during the day to help keep your energy levels up. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends 7-8 hours of sleep each night. A combination of shorter intervals between dinner and bedtime and naps during the day can help decrease your overall sleep time without compromising mental performance. After a good night’s rest, you’re more likely to be alert the next day. And while you sleep, your body repairs and rebuilds, so don’t worry about losing that extra hour or two of sleep when you do catch up on it.

Getting enough sleep is an integral part of overall health. If you’re having trouble sleeping, there are plenty of natural remedies for sleeping pills available to help. They can help people get the right amount of sleep they need and improve their quality of life.

How about you? Are you getting enough sleep?