The Importance of Sleep

Why sleep is so important for our health

We all spend, on average, one third of our life asleep. The need to sleep is hard wired into all animals and yet we still don’t fully understand why we have to sleep.  A lack of sleep impacts everything which we do and the symptoms will be seen in physical, mental and emotional problems.

Let’s look at the main problems caused by a lack of sleep

1. Mental acuity, concentration and memory – These are all reduced by a lack of sleep. The links have been known for a long time. It has been proven that your decision making process is considerably worse when you are deprived of sleep and remember that over 100,000 car crashes per year in America are caused by falling asleep at the wheel.
2. Emotional problems and mood control - Sleep deprivation leaves us less able to cope with the emotional roundabout which we face each day. It becomes harder to remain optimistic and you will find it less easy to relate to other people with empathy.
3. Physical problems - These are where the hidden dangers lie. From an early age we all experience the mental and emotional problems of sleep deprivation but what most people do not understand is that this can also have a significant impact on your physical health.

Physical problems associated with sleep deprivation

Many of the physical problems are cumulative. You will not notice the damage being done through lack of sleep until they start to manifest themselves.

1. Weight gain - During sleep we produce hormones associated with metabolism and appetite. Disrupting this cycle can cause weight gain and the current obesity epidemic has been partly attributed to changes in our lifestyle which have resulted in less sleep.
2. Inhibition of growth - There is a definite link between sleep and the production of growth hormones. This is particularly strong for children.
3. Reduction in the healing process - A medical study showed that sleep deprivation in rats reduced the speed with which wounds were healed. Remember when you were last injured or seriously ill and how much you wanted to just submit to “healing sleep“.
4.  Impact on the immune system - We know that white blood cells are produced in greater quantities during sleep. Deprivation of sleep has the opposite effect and your immune system will suffer.
5. Heart problems - Hypertension, irregular heartbeats and cardiovascular disorders have been linked to lack of sleep.

Lack of sleep and interaction with other medical conditions

Very often other medical conditions will contribute to poor sleep and a vicious circle will be created. Depression, addictions and stress are common examples.

Conclusion

Sleep is an integral part of our lives. We cannot live without it and yet so many times we take it for granted. Once we have recognised the importance of sleep we can then start to manage it properly. We can become more aware of how well we are sleeping, what happens when we are asleep and what causes us to lose sleep. Healthy and healing sleep is something which are all entitled to.