Sleep is the best preventative medicine when it comes to your physical, mental and emotional health. But despite its importance, most people do not get an adequate amount or great enough quality of sleep. Below are some ways good sleep can change your life that might convince you to make it a greater priority.
Sleep Helps the Body Heal
Sleep is the time that the body uses to heal and repair itself after a day of activities. This is because during sleep is when we produce most of our growth hormone that contributes to bone growth. In addition, when tissues and muscles relax, it helps reduce inflammation.
Sleep Lowers Risk of Disease
According to Dr. Meir Kryger, professor of pulmonary medicine and clinical professor of nursing at Yale School of Medicine, “There appears to be an increased risk of deaths … and other diseases raising their ugly heads” when people get too much or too little sleep, mostly due to heart problems and diabetes. This plays into sleep helping the body heal as well, since sleep is when cells that would cause disease can repair themselves.
Sleep Improves Cognitive Function
The National Sleep Foundation reports that while we sleep, memories are reactivated, connections between brain cells are strengthened and information is transferred from short- to long-term memory. In other words, when we don’t get enough sleep, we become forgetful. This can affect the mind’s ability to learn, think, reason, remember, problem solve, make decisions and pay attention.
Sleep Reduces Stress
Studies show that getting enough restful sleep can enhance your mood and encourage the brain to regulate emotional responses to both neutral and stressful stimuli.
Sleep Helps You Maintain a Healthy Weight
There are two hormones that control the urge to eat: leptin and ghrelin. The former signals to the brain when the body is full, while the latter communicates feelings of hunger. When sleep is inadequate, both these hormones veer in the wrong direction; leptin tanks while ghrelin spikes. This can result in an increase in hunger feelings and the potential to overeat. Getting enough sleep helps the body maintain normal levels of both these hormones, helping you maintain a healthy weight.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, call the experts at Pinnacle ENT Associates.