Sleep

Did you know?

• Sleep is just as important as diet and exercise
• In general, most healthy adults need seven to nine hours of sleep a night
• Sleep deprivation induces significant reductions in performance and alertness
• Decreased alertness and excessive daytime sleepiness impair your memory and your cognitive ability, your ability to think and process information
• People who don’t get enough sleep are more likely to have bigger appetites due to the fact that their leptin levels (leptin is an appetite-regulating hormone) fall, promoting appetite increase
• Sleeping less than 7 hours each night reduces your life expectancy
• Sleep disorders and chronic sleep loss can put you at risk for: heart disease, heart attack, heart failure, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, diabetes
• Over time, lack of sleep and sleep disorders can contribute to the symptoms of depression
• Lack of sleep ages your skin

Benefits of sleep

• During sleep you can strengthen memories or "practice" skills learned while you were awake
• Researchers at Harvard University and Boston College found that people seem to strengthen the emotional components of a memory during sleep, which may help spur the creative process
• Being chronically tired to the point of fatigue or exhaustion means that we are less likely to perform well. Neurons do not fire optimally, muscles are not rested, and the body’s organ systems are not synchronized. Lapses in focus from sleep deprivation can even result in accidents or injury
• If you have chronic pain or acute pain from a recent injury, getting enough sleep may actually make you hurt less
• Lack of sleep can suppress your immune system, which makes you more vulnerable to infections
• Regular shut-eye actually makes you look healthier and more attractive, according to a 2010 study published in the British Medical Journal
• Lack of sleep can make you put on weight by drastically slowing your metabolism down, according to a study by scientists at Uppsala University in Sweden. The researchers suggested getting plenty of sleep might prevent weight gain