Sleep – The Key For A Stress-Free Living

A night of good sleep is as essential as eating healthy food and exercising. It is significant for your health, but many things can interfere with natural sleep patterns. Due to the modern lifestyle and stress, people are now sleeping much less than they did in the past, and there is a reduction in sleep quality as well. Sleep is crucial for your health, and no doubt, it is a key to living a stress-free life. This blog will help you know why good sleep is essential, and it can help you live a stress-free life.

Good sleepers tend to take fewer calories.

Studies say that sleep-deprived people have an enormous appetite and eat more calories. Sleep deprivation disrupts the regular fluctuations in appetite hormones that result in poor appetite regulation. It includes the hormone that stimulates appetite, higher levels of ghrelin, and reduced leptin levels, the hormone that suppresses appetite.

Intake of high calories can cause several medical problems together with stress. So, taking a good sleep can help. If not, taking small short duration naps can also prove beneficial and help you live a stress-free life.

Poor sleep is interconnected to higher body weight

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People with short sleep periods tend to gain weight significantly more than individuals who get adequate sleep. Lack of sleep or sleeping for a short duration is one of the most significant risk factors for obesity. If you are trying to lose some body weight, getting a night of good quality sleep can help.
According to an extensive survey, children and adults with short sleep periods were 89% and 55% more prone to develop obesity, respectively. It is believed that the effect of sleep on weight gain is mediated through numerous factors, such as hormones and motivation to work out.
Good sleep can increase productivity and improve concentration.

Every aspect of the brain is somehow affected by sleep. Sleep deprivation’s primary things that get most negatively affected are concentration, cognition, and performance. According to a survey, interns working on a traditional schedule with prolonged work hours of more than 24 hours (a day) made 36% more severe medical errors than the interns on a different plan that allowed more sleep.

Another study says that short sleep can negatively affect some aspects of brain function similar to the same degree as alcohol intoxication. Also, good sleep has been shown to benefit while performing problem-solving skills and improve memory performance of both adults and children.

Good sleep can aid in athletic performance.

In a survey on basketball players, longer sleep has significantly improved accuracy, speed, mental well-being, and reaction times. An athlete must stay stress-free and focus entirely on the sport; good sleep can help achieve it.

In older women, less sleep duration has affected poor exercise performance and functional limitation. Also, a study on over 2,800 women reports that poor sleep was associated with lower grip strength, slower walking, and more incredible difficulty performing independent activities.
Poor sleep is interconnected with depression.

Both depression and poor sleep are interconnected in such a way as depression does not let an individual sleep properly, while poor sleep increases the risk of depression. Mental health conditions, including depression, are strongly associated with poor sleep quality and risky sleeping disorders.
It has been estimated that 90% of individuals with depression complain about sleep deprivation or lack of quality sleep. Poor sleep is even linked with an increased risk of suicidal attempts and death by suicide.

Moreover, people with sleeping disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea (interrupted breathing during sleep) or insomnia (inability to fall or stay asleep) also report significantly high rates of depression than those who sleep better.

Sleep improves immune function.

Even a slight loss of sleep can impair your immune function. One extensive two-week study monitored how the development of common cold occurs after giving people nasal drops together with the cold virus.

People who have slept less than 7 hours were almost thrice more likely to cold than those who took rest for 8 hours or more. If you often catch a cold, ensure that you take at least 8 hours of sleep every night as it could prove very beneficial.

Good sleep can reduce inflammation.

The nature of your rest plays a critical effect in inflammation in your body. Sleep deprivation can activate cell damage and undesirable markers of inflammation. Poor sleep has been firmly associated with long-term inflammation in the digestive tract, in medical conditions known as inflammatory bowel disease.

According to the observations made in a study, sleep-deprived people with Crohn’s disease were two times as likely to worsen as individuals who slept well. Also, researchers are even recommending sleep evaluation that will help predict results in individuals with long-term inflammatory issues.

Effects of sleep on emotional and social interactions

Sleep deprivation reduces the ability of an individual to interact socially as you may not be alert about your surroundings. One study says that people who had not slept well had a reduced capacity to recognize expressions of happiness and anger.

Researchers believe that sleep deprivation or poor sleep quality affects your ability to understand critical social cues and makes it challenging for an individual to process emotional information.

Sleep deprivation may reduce the level of your social skills and ability to recognize emotions and people’s emotional expression. Along with exercise, diet, and nutrition, good sleep is also one of the pillars of health. And, you cannot simply achieve your goal of optimal health without taking care of your rest.