Importance of sleep
Quality sleep is important to your physical and mental health just as food and water are. Sleep is necessary to restore energy. It allows the brain to filter new information, maintain vital body functions, and fix up muscle tissue.
When the body doesn’t get enough sleep, it affects your thinking ability and controls your emotions and the way you react to things. This can lead to you having problems at home, school, and your workplace.
Lack of sleep can become so serious to the extent it affects your immune system making it easy access to infections and diseases. It can increase the risk for health conditions like depression, diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.
Do you need much sleep?
As we age so also do our sleeping habits changes. Below are sleeping recommendations by CDC:
Age Hours of sleep
18-60 7 hours or more
13-18 8 to 10 hours
6-12 9 to 12 hours
3-5 10 to 12 hours, naps included
1-2 11 to 12 hours, naps included
A person who lacks sleep can increase the risk of accidents when he/she is driving because they won’t be paying attention. They are likely to fall asleep on the wheels which can result in accidents.
Low-quality sleep makes you feel tired the next day regardless of whether you had slept before the morning.
So yes, you need enough sleep to keep you mentally and physically alert.
What can cause sleep deprivation?
There are many reasons a person may not get enough sleep. These include:
- Caring for another person during the night (i.e nursing mom, family, or friend caring for a sick loved one)
- Meeting deadlines (i.e work, school, or personal goals)
- Medical problems (i.e chronic pain, sleep apnea, or depression)
- Work shift
- Sleeping in a noisy environment, or a hot temperature
- Using electronic devices before bedtime
Other health issues that can cause sleep deprivation include:
- Anxiety
- Obesity
- Depression
- Bipolar disorder
- Sleep apnea
- Drug misuse
- Chronic Fatigue syndrome
- Schizophrenia
- Narcolepsy
- Chronic pain
- Bruxism
- Insomnia
- Parasomnias
3 ways to get quality sleep
Sleep deprivation can damage a person’s mental health and overall quality of life. So you need quality sleep to keep your physical and mental health sound. Here are three ways to get quality sleep:
1. Natural Treatments
Lifestyle and environmental adjustments are one way to improve your sleep. These include:
- Meditation
- Exercises to help reduce tension
- Music
- Drink chamomile tea such as ORGANIC Chamomile Herbal Tea, BIOGENIC Chamomile Stress Relief Tea, Yogi Comforting Chamomile Tea, Bigelow Cozy Chamomile Herbal Tea
- Eat 2-3 hours before bedtime.
- Turn off electronic devices and keep them away
- Keep the bedroom quiet before sleeping
- Limit usage of alcohol and caffeine.
2. Medications
Sedative-hypnotic medications such as dyphenhydramine and doxylamine have helped some persons sleep well.
Before taking medications, ask your doctor or any health professional for instructions because such drugs can be addictive and usually have side effects.
3. Therapies
Cognitive-behavioral therapy(CBT) is a therapy that helps a person who is lacking to identify the factors contributing to his lack of sleep.
Other therapies that have proven to work for some include:
- Yoga
- Massage
- Meditation
- Ayurveda
Quality Sleep Benefits
You’ve seen the dangers of sleep deprivation in the preceding paragraphs. Now, here are the benefits that come with having quality sleep.
Good quality sleep can help fight off short-term and long-term health problems such as:
- Mental Awareness – A person who gets enough sleep is more competent than a sleep-deprived person. Such a person hardly loses focus on whatever he does. He/she sets his mind on those things he wants to do without slacking behind. The way they react to situations around them is more reasonable and calm.
- Physical balance – your body is free from fatigue and tiredness when you are not sleep-deprived. Even your immune system can fight off any infection or disease that may find its way to your body.
- Lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease – healthy sleep lowers the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease.
- Lowers depression – studies show that people who have depression suffer from a lack of sleep. Quality sleep reduces the risk of depression.
Bottom line
Sleep deprivation can lead to complicated health problems such as anxiety disorder and sleep apnea. It can also affect your daily lifestyle like losing concentration at work, school, or at home.
If you notice some complications due to lack of sleep, see a doctor or a professional health practitioner for a remedy. Remember, your physical and mental health matters.
Written by Mary E. Linus