5 Important Reasons To Get A Good Night’s Sleep
May 2, 2013Why Sleep Matters
Just as healthy eating habits are important to our over all health and well-being, the benefits of healthy sleeping patterns impacts many aspects of our daily lifestyle. Here are 5 reasons why a good night's sleep matters:
1. Sleep may help in weight maintenance or loss
A good night's rest may be one key element in your weight loss journey. Researchers have found that when you are sleep deprived, the hormones in your body that regulate or suppress your appetite are depleted. These hormones are known as leptin and ghrelin. One study in particular shows that individuals who get only five hours or less of rest each night are 73% more likely to be obese or overweight in comparison to those who doze off for more than seven hours. Sleep deprivation has also been found to contribute to childhood obesity.
2. Sleep helps your body to heal
When you are sleeping, your cells produce more protein thus allowing your body to repair and restore itself and to heal from the damages caused by every day life. Resting your body allows for tissue regeneration, muscle building and for overburdened organs, such as your liver, to repair.
Fast Fact: The liver performs over 500 different functions... one of the most important is the cleansing of the blood.
3. Sleep may help to improve your sex life
Practicing healthy sleeping habits can indeed help to improve your sex life. A good night's rest increases your energy levels, and improves your physical well-being, not to mention your libido. It has been shown that men who are sleep deprived can have lower testosterone levels but experts are not sure why.
4. Sleep helps to boost your immune system
Sleep deprivation has been linked to the probability of compromising your immune system. In fact, many studies show that our inflammatory cytokines increase and T-cell levels decrease when we don't get enough sleep and this may result in an increased chance of developing the flu or a cold.
5. Sleep reduces your risk for depression
People who suffer from depression are known to have a deficiency in serotonin. When an individual gets adequate sleep, serotonin levels increase. It is estimated that those who experience chronic sleep deprivation are three to ten times more likely to be depressed.
