Health Benefits of Sleep
What is Sleep?
Sleep is a state of rest. It is when our body repairs and replenishes itself after the day that has just gone before. It is also when our minds relax and let stress and anxiety ebb away. Deep sleep – often called ‘REM’ or ‘Rapid Eye Movement’ sleep – is crucial here.
Sleep is also pretty mysterious. After all, this is the time when we dream as well. We can go to sleep feeling tired and strung out and awake feeling calm, refreshed and filled with mystical ideas.
The healing properties of sleep are manifold. Below, we explain 7 key health benefits of sleep: these 7 points encompass the benefits of sleep for both body and mind.
Health Benefits of Sleep.
- Improving your memory.
Sleep boosts your cognitive function. So, if you are studying hard it could be better to get an extra hour of sleep than to stay up an extra hour working. You will find that those facts sink in much better!
- Boosting your immune system.
It is while you are sleeping that your cells do most of their growth and repair. And, that includes keeping your immune system working well and fighting your disease. Perhaps you have noticed that when you are tired and run down, you are more likely to catch colds and other illnesses?
- Reducing risk of heart disease.
Sleep helps to stop inflammations of your blood vessels, which in its turn reduces your risk of cardiac illness.
- Thinking outside the box.
As you sleep, your mind is secretly at work, finding creative solutions to your problems. That is why you sometimes wake up with an answer in your mind to that burning issue that seemed so difficult when you went to bed!
- Enhancing your stamina.
Sleep is one of the most important parts of an athlete’s regime. As well as promoting the growth and repair of muscle tissue, a good night’s sleep reduces fatigue and gives you great stamina.
- Focus and attention.
People with insomnia find it hard to focus on a topic for a long time. Though they may start out well writing an essay or crunching numbers for work, their tired brain will soon start to flag and wander.
- Healthy eating.
When you do not sleep well, your cravings for unhealthy foods – such as foods with too much sugar in – increase. In addition, sleep is essential for good digestion which helps us to maintain a healthy weight. And, if we oversleep due to poor sleeping patterns, we will often miss breakfast and wind up snacking on chips and candy bars throughout the day.
Conclusion.
Sleep is vital for mind and body. Regulating our biological clock will ensure that our cognitive function is working at its very best and also that our emotional behavior is calm and happy.
From repairing cells to solving knotty problems – sleep does so much for us. It is necessary for professional athletes and school students studying for exams alike. It almost feels like cheating: when we are resting is when our mind and body gets lots of its best work done.
