Sleep is one of the most important activities for the health of the body. However, there are still many people who often ignore the benefits of getting enough sleep at night. In fact, the importance of getting enough sleep for physical and mental health should not be overlooked.
Table of Content
1. What are the health benefits of getting enough sleep?
2. Adequate sleep rules
3. How to get enough and quality rest
Sleep is one of the most important activities for the health of the body. Unfortunately, there are still many people who often ignore the benefits of getting enough sleep at night. For that, understanding the importance of sleep is very important so that your physical and mental health is always maintained.
What are the health benefits of getting enough sleep?
Most people choose to sleep late or stay up late, thereby underestimating the benefits of regular sleep.
In fact, if you often lack sleep at night, you can find it difficult to move the next day.
The body cannot carry out its various functions properly so that it has the potential to increase the risk of various diseases. For that, consider the various benefits of getting enough sleep for the following health.
1. Boost the immune system
One of the benefits of getting enough sleep is to boost the immune system. This is because when you sleep, the body’s immune system can work optimally in producing antibodies.
Antibodies are chemical compounds that can help fight bacteria and viruses in the body. In fact, certain types of antibodies exist that increase the body’s immune system to be more effective in fighting disease.
If you are sleep deprived, the immune system cannot work optimally in fighting viruses or bacteria that cause disease. As a result, you will be more susceptible to various diseases.
In addition to increasing immunity, the function of getting enough sleep can also reduce the risk of inflammation in the body. Thus, the risk of the emergence of various diseases can be reduced.
2. Control your weight and appetite
Want to have an ideal body weight or are losing weight? Try to always get enough sleep at night.
Going to bed early will prevent you from eating unhealthy foods or snacks, such as cookies or chips.
A study published in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care proves that people who don’t get enough sleep every night are more at risk of being overweight or obese.
This is most likely caused by an imbalance of hormones that regulate hunger and satiety in the body, namely the hormones ghrelin and leptin.
During sleep, leptin levels in the body will decrease, thereby stimulating satiety signals to the brain. When sleep is reduced, the brain will reduce levels of the hormone leptin and increase ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates hunger signals to the brain.
These hormonal changes can make you want to snack or overeat at night.
3. Strengthen memory
If lately you often forget, it could be a lack of sleep to be the culprit. The reason is, getting enough sleep can strengthen your memory, you know.
During your activity, you may learn things or absorb new information. During sleep, the brain will sort through all the information that has been learned.
The brain will also be active to strengthen memory and practice the abilities you learned previously while still active. Later, the brain will decide which information should be stored and which should be discarded.
The benefits of regular sleep for seven to eight hours can make you experience all stages of sleep so that it launches the process of remembering and creative thinking.
4. Increase concentration and productivity
Do you often feel less focused and concentrated during activities or have decreased productivity? Well, it could be because you don’t get enough sleep at night.
Adequate sleep turns out to play an important role in the process of learning and thinking. The benefits of sleep have also been shown to improve problem-solving skills and improve memory performance in children and adults.
If you are often sleep deprived then cognitive abilities can be damaged over time. This includes levels of alertness, concentration, reasoning, and problem-solving skills.
5. Improve mood ( mood )
The benefits of getting enough sleep can actually help improve mood. Yes, resting at night as needed can make you wake up feeling fresher and happier.
That means you will not be easily distracted by small things that risk worsening the mood.
6. Maintain heart health
The benefits of getting enough rest at night can help maintain heart health. This is because during sleep, blood pressure will decrease so that the heart and blood vessels can rest.
Not only that, during sleep your body will release hormones that can nourish the heart.
If you often don’t get enough sleep at night, your risk of cardiovascular disease can increase over time. This condition can be a serious problem if you already have a history of heart disease.
Therefore, make sure to always get enough sleep every night to avoid cardiovascular disease.
7. Reduce stress
The benefits of rest for health are also able to relax the mind and body. If you are sleep deprived, your body will release the stress hormone or cortisol.
Stress can cause you to overreact to things and reduce your productivity while studying or working. Sometimes, you too can make decisions impulsively or in a hurry.
So, take advantage of sufficient sleep time to relax so that the body can also repair damaged body cells by producing certain proteins to build healthier body cells.
8. Regulate metabolism and blood sugar levels
Another benefit of getting enough sleep is to regulate the body’s metabolism. If you’re sleep-deprived, you’re at increased risk of health conditions related to metabolism, such as spikes in blood sugar. For those of you who already have a history of diabetes, the risk of developing this disease may occur.
9. Extend the life
Did you know that adequate length and quality of sleep plays an important role in prolonging your life?
Yes, the less time you sleep at night, the greater the risk of dying prematurely.
In addition, reducing sleep time to five hours or less can increase the risk of premature death. That means, the benefits of regular sleep can extend a person’s life.
10. Healthy skin
The benefits of getting enough rest at night also touch the health side of the skin. Because when you sleep, your body will produce new and fresh collagen. Collagen is a protein that will keep your skin firm, supple, and youthful.
If you don’t get enough sleep, the collagen and hyaluronic acid in your skin will break down. In fact, these two components play an important role so that the skin can be shiny, supple, and bright.
If you often sleep for five hours or less, the signs of aging, including fine lines and dark circles under the eyes will appear more quickly.
11. Increases sexual arousal
For married couples, maintaining a harmonious marital relationship can also be obtained from the benefits of adequate sleep.
Experts believe, lack of sleep causes a decrease in libido while reducing the desire to have sex.
This may occur due to drowsiness and drained energy due to lack of sleep at night.
Adequate sleep rules
To get the maximum benefits of adequate rest above, make sure to sleep according to the recommended number of hours.
Here are the rules of good sleep time according to the National Sleep Foundation according to age groups:
- Newborns (0-3 months): 14-17 hours daily
- Infants (4-11 months): 12-15 hours daily.
- Toddlers (1-2 years): 11-14 hours daily.
- Preschool (3-5 years): 10-13 hours daily.
- School-age (6-13 years): 9-11 hours daily.
- Young adults (18-25 years): 7-9 hours daily.
- Adults (26-64 years): 7-9 hours daily.
- Elderly (65 years and over): 7-8 hours daily.
How to get enough and quality rest
A person may not be able to get enough and quality sleep because they have to work on task or work deadlines, are anxious or nervous, stressed, or are busy playing with gadgets.
To get enough and quality sleep, you can apply the following things.
- Create a regular sleep schedule, which is to start closing and opening your eyes at the same time every day.
- Create a comfortable atmosphere, for example by setting the room temperature to cool, and turning off the lights.
- Put or store the gadget 1.5 hours before going to bed.
- Avoid consuming caffeine and alcohol close to bedtime.
- Do exercise regularly and regularly. However, make sure the time to exercise is not too close to bedtime because the effect can make you awake.
- Avoid stress. Experiencing stress after strenuous activity can often make it hard to sleep. For that, you can do yoga, meditation, massage, or inhale aromatherapy to reduce stress.
After knowing the various benefits of getting enough sleep for health, you are expected to no longer miss sleep.
Adequate sleep is part of a healthy lifestyle. Don’t forget to exercise regularly and eat healthy foods to perfect it.