The Importance of Sleep
When you get a good night’s sleep, you feel refreshed. You’re alert, focused and able to perform well throughout the day. But when you don’t get enough sleep, it can leave you feeling irritable and a little bit out of it. The lack of a full night’s rest can also impact your mental health, making you more susceptible to mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. It’s not surprising, then, that sleep is considered so important. In fact, a whole field of medicine is devoted to the study of sleep and how conditions like insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, and depression affect it.
It wasn’t too long ago that we thought sleep was a time when your brain and body “shut off.” Now we know that both are working during slumber: refining the circuitry of the brain, scrubbing away metabolic waste, building muscles and bones, and strengthening the immune system. Sleep has even been linked to your emotions and your memory, as well as how you react to the world around you.
Sleep is a complex state, and understanding it has been challenging. In fact, modern medicine’s understanding of it is akin to putting together a partially assembled jigsaw puzzle. Traditionally, scientists have broken down sleep into two distinct phases: NREM (non-rapid eye movement) and REM (rapid eye movement). But newer research, especially brain-imaging studies, has shown that both NREM and REM display complex patterns of brain activity over time. Moreover, some NREM and REM periods occur simultaneously in the same sleep cycle.
What we do know is that, in general, you spend about seven hours a night sleeping. That’s the recommended amount for adults to support healthy functioning and maintain a healthy weight. Consistently getting less than that can lead to problems such as depression, weight gain, high blood pressure, memory issues and poor concentration. Sleep deficiency can also weaken your immunity and make you more susceptible to illness, and it’s been linked to a higher risk of accidents, including car crashes.
The best thing you can do for your sleep is to make sure that you go to bed at a consistent time and follow a regular sleep schedule. This will help your body to recognize that it’s time to go to bed and prepare for sleep. It’s also important to avoid bright lights and electronics at bedtime. The light from these can confuse the brain into thinking that it’s still awake.
Lastly, stay at a healthy weight, exercise regularly and have a nutritious diet that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables. If you have a chronic medical condition, keep it under control and be sure to consult with your doctor if it interferes with your sleep. Taking the right steps toward better, more restful sleep can be life changing for both your physical and mental health.