Top 10 Sleep Benefits

Sleep: An absolute favorite pastime for all, but something insufficiently achieved, courtesy of our busy schedules. In fact, a study states that more than 1/3 of Americans today are not getting their required hours of sleep (7-9). However, is getting some shuteye really that important? Here are the top 10 benefits of sleep, to tell you just how important those hours of shut eye are:

1. Improved Memory

Remember the time when someone kept asking you a question, but you simply couldn’t recall the details because you were tired?

That’s exactly what lack of sleep does. While our brain continues to store information the entire day, it needs a good night’s sleep to store and process the details and be able to remember them when needed.

2. Mood Booster

If you, or someone you know gets cranky when they’re sleepy; it’s because lack of sleep messes with our emotions. Getting a good night’s sleep helps our brain process experiences and emotions, and thus be more receptive to negative instances, while responding calmly and positively.

3. Improved Immunity

When we’re feeling sick, a common reaction is to lay down for a while and get a few hours of sleep. That is because sleep produces an extra set of protein molecules in the body that helps ward off illnesses; thus, improving immunity.

Therefore, while COVID-19 may have taken over, maintaining sufficient hours of sleep may be the way to preserving health.

4. Maintains Blood Pressure

Sleep helps you relax and simply lay low. Consequently, your blood pressure levels remain low too, and thus maintained well.

5. Feel Alert

Just as sleep energizes you for the tasks of the day, it also enhances abilities of concentration. For example, a study on medical interns found that those who worked 24+ hour shifts made 36% more errors than those who got sleep within the time frame.

6. Be Smarter

This comes as a no-brainer. Even a small nap during a day works wonders is re-energizing you for the day’s activities. Thus, making you smarter and vastly productive.

7. Lose Weight

A study found that adults with an insufficient sleep duration were 55% more likely to gain weight and/or become obese. This is because lack of sleep disrupts the levels of Ghrelin and Leptin, the appetite regularizing hormones.

Therefore, fulfillment of sleep hours prevents weight gain, and can assist weight loss instead,

8. May Prevent Cancer

If you’re not getting enough sleep, that means you’re staying awake for a reason. Whether it be due to schoolwork, overtime in the office, or simply some Netflix binge-watching, staying awake means exposure to light. This reduces the levels of Melatonin in the body – the hormone that protects us against various cancers.

Therefore, getting enough sleep offers maintained Melatonin levels and thus protection against cancers such as Breast and Colon cancer.