The Importance Of Sleep For Your Health And Well-being

This may be due to a lack of or insufficient sleep. It is so important to ensure you get a good night’s sleep each evening, to rest from the day and to gear yourself up for the next day.

So how can getting a good night’s sleep enhance your health and well-being?

You’ll be ill less frequently

Study after study shows that if you skimp on rest, you are more likely to get ill. In turn, if you get enough sleep then you will create the optimum environment for your natural defences to function well.

You’ll be more relaxed

Get enough sleep and you’ll cope better with the pressures of the day. You’ll help yourself avoid building up high levels of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. Both these substances put your body on high alert, watching for danger.

You’ll regulate your weight

Many studies show a link between obesity and sleep. Your body needs sleep to normalise weight-control hormones. One study showed that those who slept for fours hours two nights running had a 24% increase in appetite, craved sweet, starchy and salty foods.

You’ll increase body strength

It is during the deep sleep that the body repairs muscles that have been torn or broken during the day. It’s also essential for those wanting to improve muscle tone. The body actually waits until deep-level sleep to transform that physical activity into new muscle.

You’ll improve your memory

Deep sleep dramatically improves how your brain works. It affects how nerve cells in the brain connect, governing everything from how the brain controls the behaviour to the ability to learn to remember.

So ensure you have a restful nights sleep each night create a wind down routine for yourself. For example having a hot bath, reading a book, doing some meditation or having a glass of warm milk.