Why Sleep Is Important
What is Sleep?
Sleep is a mental and physical state of rest.
Sleep is usually accompanied by a decrease in body temperature, blood pressure, respiration rate, and most bodily functions. However, one’s brain remains active during sleep. In fact, tasks such as storing of short-term memory material into long-term memory and replenishment of neurochemicals occur during sleep.
How Sleep Affects Every Aspect of Your Health
Sleep determines more than how awake and alert or how tired you feel. It is a necessary biological function; everything in your brain and body relies on sleep to function properly.
Sleep, in many ways, is more important than healthy eating and exercise for your health. You can eat poorly and be sedentary for long periods of time but not getting enough sleep or good sleep will show up in your life in dramatic ways very quickly.
Sleep disorders
and poor sleep contributes to…
- Brain fog
- Inability to stay focused
- Poor recall
- Decreased short term memory
- Irritability
- Depression and other mental health issues
- Poor ability to process emotional information
- Illness
- Impaired immune function
- Inflammation
- Hypertension
- Heart disease
- Type 2 diabetes
Good Sleep Helps You...
- Think more clearly
- Improve concentration
- Problem-solve more easily
- Enhance your memory
90% of patients with depression complain about sleep quality.
J Clin Psychiatry. 2005 Oct;66(10):1254-69. Sleep and depression. Tsuno N(1), Besset A, Ritchie K.
It’s estimated that approximately 50% of Americans are sleep deprived.
This often results in accidents and has resulted in the development of legislation against sleepy driving in some states.
Obstructive sleep apnea increases inflammation.
Obstructive sleep apnea, a common sleep disorder, significantly increases inflammation which contributes to aging and disease because of the internal stress created from the blocked airway, among other factors.
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