The Importance of Sleep
Getting enough rest is essential for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend adults get 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Yet, we live in a world where many factors disrupt the natural course of sleep, including electronic devices, shift work and long commutes, all of which can lead to poor quality sleep. The result is that more people are not getting the restorative benefits of sleep. This has serious consequences for physical and emotional health, with sleep deficiency linked to a variety of chronic diseases such as heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and depression.
Sleep is important for regulating the body’s circadian rhythm, which determines when you feel hungry, when you should be active and when your body and mind are ready to rest. In addition, the brain goes through a series of stages during sleep that affect the way you think and respond to situations, and the emotions you experience.
A number of theories explain why you need sleep, and many of the same mechanisms that cause your body to be able to rest are the same ones that help you recover from illness and injury. One theory is that sleep evolved as a response to predators who were more likely to attack at night, so by slowing down and reducing brain activity, it gave the body a better chance of survival.
In addition, sleeping provides a time when the body is protected from intruders that could cause disease or infection. A key role of sleep is to support the immune system by allowing cells in the body to detect and destroy any foreign invaders. This is why your chances of getting a cold or the flu are much greater when you aren’t getting enough sleep.
The brain also needs sleep to clear out waste, or toxins, that builds up throughout the day. During sleep, the glymphatic system removes these toxins from the brain to keep it working well when you wake up. Sleep is also important for memory consolidation, the process by which short-term memories are converted to long-term ones that help you learn. Different types of sleep—particularly rapid eye movement (REM) and slow-wave sleep—play a different role in this process.
A good night’s sleep can also improve mood and give you the energy to face the challenges of everyday life. A lack of rest can make you irritable, increase your risk of accidents and negatively affect your performance on the job and at school or in sports. And if you are sleep-deprived on a regular basis, it can weaken your resistance to disease and even make it harder for you to overcome stress. So make it a priority to stick with your bedtime routine and get the recommended amount of sleep each night.