9 Significant reasons why you should never miss out on your sleep
Here are some sensible reasons for all of us who stay awake for long hours at night and ignore sleep.
Remember better
You find that sleeping well before an exam helps you remember things better. Poor sleepers have trouble remembering things. This is because your body and mind work together to ‘process’ all that you have learnt in a day. So sleep well for a great memory.
Live longer
Sleep and ageing have a definite relationship, though whether it is a cause-effect relationship is not known. People who sleep well are the ones with a happy and long life!
Heart of the matter
People who sleep for less than 5 hours a day were found to have high levels of C-reactive proteins in their blood. This protein is responsible for inflaming the heart tissues and leading to several heart diseases. The bad effects of not sleeping well on the heart are equal to that of smoking. As per the studies conducted at a university in the Netherlands, people who slept well at night had a 22% less chance of developing heart diseases. This finding supports the claim to put inadequate sleep as one of the risk factors for developing heart diseases.
Be creative
The time when you sleep is the time when the brain can do its work quietly without disturbances. It processes the memories, rearranges them and gives them a pattern to your thoughts. So when you wake up refreshed, you feel your creative juices flowing!
Lose weight
If you are on a weight loss programme, hitting the gym and eating right isn’t enough. You need to sleep well too. The sleep and hunger centers are located close together in the brain and the same set of hormones trigger both the centers. So when you stay awake at night because you are unable to sleep, you tend to eat more junk and end up gaining a lot of weight!
Beats the stress
Sleeping relaxes all the muscles of the body. It causes the tension and stress to melt away from your body and when you wake up in the morning, you feel fresh and energized and ready to take on the world. With reduction in the stress levels, you also successfully keep several chronic diseases at bay!
Sleep and drive
Yes. More than alcohol, it has been found that sleep is the major cause for fatal accidents on the road. When you don’t get the required amounts of sleep, the brain doesn’t function effectively. Sleeplessness affects your reflexes, decision making powers and reaction time. So one night of sleeplessness and driving is equal to drunken driving!
Look good
The lifestyle we lead today, with all the amount of stress involved, takes a heavy toll on our bodies. We end up with wrinkles and fine lines around the eyes, dark circles, grey hair, etc. All this can be avoided by a single night of good sleep daily. Little wonder then, it is called as ‘beauty sleep’.
Beat depression
A good night’s sleep helps to stabilize our emotions. It reduces the anxiety levels, makes us less irritable and moody.
