Sleep makes to feel better, but its importance goes way beyond just enhancing the mood or expelling under-eye circles. Sufficient sleep is key part of a healthy lifestyle, and can benefit the heart, weight, mind, and more.
Not anymore. Here are some amazing health benefits of sleep to researchers have discovered about a good night’s sleep.
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Improve memory
Your mind is surprisingly busy as you sleep. During the time of sleep you can strengthen the memories or “practice” skills learned as you were awake. It is a process called consolidation.
If you are trying to learn something, whether it is physical or mental, you learn it to the certain point with practice. But something happens as you sleep that makes you learn it better.
In other words if you are trying to learn something new whether it is french or a new tennis swing—you will perform better after sleeping.
Live longer
Too much or too little sleep is connected with a shorter lifespan. Although it is not clear if it is a cause or effect. Illnesses might affect the sleep patterns too.
In a 2010 study of women ages 50 – 79, more deaths occurred in women who got less than 5 hours or more than 6 and half hours of sleep per night.
Sleep also affects quality of life. If you sleep better, you can certainly live better. It is pretty clear.
Curb inflammation
Inflammation is linked to the heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, and premature aging. Research indicates that the people who get less sleep 6 or fewer hours a night have higher blood levels of inflammatory proteins than those who get more.
A 2010 study found that C-reactive protein, which is associated with heart attack risk, was higher in people who got six or fewer hours of sleep a night.
People who have sleep apnea or insomnia can have an improvement in blood pressure and inflammation with treatment of sleep disorders.
Spur creativity
Get a good nights sleep before getting out easel and paint brushes or the pen and paper.
In addition to strengthening memories, or making them stronger, your brain appears to reorganize and restructure them, which might result in more creativity as well.
Researchers at the University of Harvard and Boston College found that people seem to strengthen the emotional components of memory during the sleep, which might help to encourage the creative process.
Be a winner
If you are an athlete, there might be one simple way to improve your performance: sleep.
A Stanford University study found that college football players who tried to sleep at least 10 hours a night for 7 to 8 weeks improved their average sprint time and had less daytime exhaustion and more stamina.
The results of this study reflect previous findings seen in tennis players and swimmers.
Have a healthy weight
If you are thinking about going on the diet, you may want to plan an earlier bedtime too.
Researchers at the University of Chicago found that dieters who were well rested lost more fat—56% of their weight loss—than those who were sleep disadvantaged, who lost more muscle mass. They shed similar amounts of total weight regardless of sleep.
Dieters in study also felt more hungry when they got less sleep.
Sleep and metabolism are controlled by same sectors of the brain. When you are sleepy, certain hormones go up in the blood, and those same hormones drive appetite.
Lower stress
When it comes to our health stress and sleep are nearly one and the same and both can affect cardiovascular health.
Sleep can definitely reduce levels of the stress, and with that people can have better control of their blood pressure. It is also believed that sleep effects cholesterol levels, which plays a significant role in heart disease.