Why sleep is important to your health

In today's fast-paced world filled with long work days and busy social schedules, it can be really hard to make time for one of the most important things for your health: sleep.

This week, we celebrate National Sleep Awareness Week to improve everyone's knowledge about sleep and it's benefits. In fact, most people don't know how much sleep they should get a night.

The majority of experts recommend that adults get between 7-9 hours of sleep each night for optimal health. It doesn't usually happen though, with research showing that most adults get around 6 hours of sleep.

At the very basic level, enough sleep is important to make sure your brain is functioning properly. This ensures that you have the best mental and emotional health.

There are a number of benefits that sleep offers for your physical health, too:

• Healing and repairing your heart and blood vessels: While you are sleeping, your body can focus on repairing various parts of your body, including your heart and blood vessels. In fact, ongoing sleep deficiency has been linked to a number of heart-related conditions, including heart disease and high blood pressure.
  
• Decreases the risk of obesity: Obesity is a serious issue in our country. There are a number of contributing factors, and one of those is lack of sleep. Studies have shown that as people lose sleep, their risk for obesity increases.
  
• Reduces your risk for diabetes: Diabetes is a serious medical condition that never goes away once you are diagnosed with it. Lack of sleep can change the way that your body responds to insulin, which controls your sugar levels in your blood. Sleep deficiency has been linked to increasing your normal blood sugars level.
  
• Supports healthy growth: Children and teenagers should get more sleep than adults, with experts recommending about 10 hours a sleep at night. This is because while they are sleeping, their body is busy at work! Deep sleep ensures natural growth and helps repair and tissues. It is also an important component of puberty.
  
• Keeps your immune system healthy: When you don't get enough sleep, your immune system isn't as strong as it could be. As a result, you have a higher chance of being susceptible to the cold, flu and other viruses. Getting enough sleep can make you less likely to get sick.

When combined with a healthy diet and exercise program, you can ensure that you are living in optimal health.

Need help determining the best exercise program for your body? Contact us at Beyond Therapy & Wellness to schedule an evaluation.