sleep mask and alarm clock

Top 5 Reasons Why Sleep Is Important for Your Health

While a nutritional diet and regular exercise is essential for your well-being, a good night of sleep is equally as important for your health! Unfortunately, due to hectic work and school schedules, many people have been getting less sleep than ever before. Before you decide to stay up late to watch television, check out these top 5 reasons why sleep is important for your health:

1. Proper Weight Maintenance

weight loss with exercise and healthy foodA good night of sleep is essential for proper weight maintenance as a lack of sleep has been shown to disrupt the daily fluctuations in appetite hormones. As a result, when you are sleep deprived you are prone to having a bigger appetite and eating more calories. A poor night of sleep has been strongly linked to weight gain and is actually one of the strongest risk factors for obesity. Whether you are trying to lose weight or simply want to maintain your current weight, a night of quality sleep is absolutely crucial!

2. Reduced Risk of Heart Disease and Stroke

It is well known that sleep quality and duration can have a major effect on many health risk factors, including heart disease and stroke. Studies have shown that people who do not get enough sleep are far more likely to experience heart issues than those individuals who get between 7 and 8 hours of sleep per night. Therefore, do your heart a favor and make sure that you get as much sleep as possible!

3. Improved Concentration and Productivity

Another reason why sleep is important for your health is because it helps to improve your brain health! A good night of sleep can maximize concentration, problem solving skills and productivity, while poor sleep has been shown to impair brain function. A short night of sleep can negatively impact some aspects of your brain function to the same degree as alcohol intoxication.

4. Boosts the Immune Function

woman sleeping in bedBy getting at least 8 hours of sleep each night, you can improve your immune function and help fight the common cold. Studies have shown that even a small loss of sleep can reduce your immune functions. In fact, it has been found that people who sleep less than 7 hours per night are nearly 3 times more likely to develop a cold than those who sleep 8 hours or more!

5. Poor Sleep Leads to Increased Inflammation

A poor night of sleep can have a major effect on the inflammation in your body as sleep loss triggers undesirable markers of inflammation and cell damage. When you don’t sleep well on a regular basis, you can experience long-term inflammation of the digestive tract. This can lead to inflammatory bowel diseases and can increase your risk of disease recurrence.

We hope that it has been beneficial to learn the reasons why sleep is important for your health, and we look forward to sharing more healthcare tips with you! If you want to learn about how Mac’s Pharmacy can help you with your healthcare needs, contact us today! We look forward to hearing from you!