Quality Sleep Boosts Your Mood, Health And Metabolism
Why should you make the effort to improve your sleep, even if you only have occasional symptoms? Here are 5 ways regular, quality sleep patterns can improve your mood, health, metabolism – and life in general.
Sleep Makes You Happy
When you’re asleep, your brain has time to process your emotions so that you can react and recognise those better the next day. If you don’t have a decent sleep, you are more likely to experience negative emotional reactions. If you don’t get enough sleep, your chances of mood disorders such as depression and anxiety increase dramatically. By getting better sleep, you can improve your general outlook on life, allowing you to deal more effectively with life’s challenges.
Increases Productivity
When you have had a good night’s rest, your concentration will improve, and you’ll have a higher cognitive function. Lack of sleep impacts the prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain that’s responsible for innovation and creativity. By getting enough sleep, you can recover faster from distractions, prevent burnout, make better decisions and fewer mistakes.
Gives You Energy
Sleep gives your body and mind time to energise. If you are sporty and love running, swimming and bike riding, getting a good night’s sleep is essential. Not only does it give your body time to rest and recover, it allows your muscles the chance to repair, and it gives your motivation a boost as well. If you’re well rested, you’ll find that you have better hand-eye coordination, muscle recovery and reaction time – which in turn leads to more strength and power.
Good For Overall Health
Ongoing sleep deficiency has been linked to increased risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease. When you sleep, your blood pressure decreases, which allows your heart and blood vessels time to rest. The less you sleep, the longer your blood pressure is higher while awake – which can, in turn, increase your chance of heart disease and stroke. Lack of sleep can also impair your immune function and is linked to increased inflammation and cell damage, including Crohn’s disease.
Boosts Your Metabolism
Sleep deprivation can cause your metabolic system to fall out of balance, and as such, it impacts your appetite in general. When you don’t get enough sleep, your body produces ghrelin. This is a hormone that boosts your appetite. That’s why when you’re tired, you’re more likely to snack. It also decreases leptin production, another hormone that tells you when you’re full. So, now you’re also more likely to binge. Low metabolism + binging = a simple recipe for disaster.
Not getting enough sleep can impact how you think, work, learn, grow, react and how well you get along with others. Try our tips and you’ll be feeling more energized, happier and healthier in no time