How Sleep is beneficial for your Health?

Sleep plays a significant role in optimum health and well-being throughout your life. Getting enough quality sleep at the right times can help protect your mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety.

1. Sleep helps reduce stress

If your body doesn’t get enough sleep, it can react by producing an elevated level of stress hormones, which are a natural result of today’s faster paced lifestyles. Deep and regular sleep can help prevent this.

2. Sleep can improve your memory

Ever noticed that when you’re really tired it’s harder to remember things? Basically this is your brain telling you that it’s not getting enough sleep. When you sleep well, your body may be resting but your brain is busy organizing and storing memories. So getting more quality sleep will help you remember and process things better.

3. Sleep can lower your blood pressure

Higher blood pressure increases your chances of heart attacks and strokes, but getting plenty of restful sleep encourages a constant state of relaxation that can help reduce blood pressure and generally keep it under control.

4. Sleep helps your body to fight back

While you’re sleeping your body is producing extra protein molecules that can strengthen your ability to fight infection. So if you’re feeling a bit run down and you don’t want it to turn into a full-blown cold, go to bed early and get lots of rest.

5. Sleep can help you maintain your weight

Unfortunately, sleep won’t directly make you lose weight, but it can help you keep it under control by regulating the hormones that affect your appetite and reducing your cravings for high calorie foods.

Sleep puts you in a better mood.

Lack of sleep can make us more agitated, so we’re more likely to snap at the boss or be grumpy with a loved one, neither of which is a good thing.

The better you sleep the better your ability to stay, calm, controlled and reasonable.

7. Sleep could reduce your chances of diabetes

Some research studies have shown that not getting enough sleep may lead to type 2 diabetes by affecting how your body processes glucose. It’s not conclusive by any means, but it’s yet another indication of how important the benefits of sleep can be.

8. Sleep helps keep your heart healthy

A regular sleep pattern can help to lower the levels of stress and inflammation to your cardiovascular system, which in turn can reduce your chances of a stroke or heart condition.

9. Sleep can be a painkiller

If you’re suffering pain from a recent injury like a sprained ankle, getting plenty of sleep can actually make you hurt less. Many studies have shown a link between sleep loss and a lower pain threshold. Basically the more sleep you get the less pain you might be in.

10. Sleep can make you smarter

Along with a great night’s sleep, grabbing a quick nap in the daytime can contribute towards making your brain more effective and productive. You won’t necessarily be answering all the questions on University Challenge, but you may well feel sharper, more attentive and focused throughout the day.

Some Signs you may have a sleep disorder:

         Consistently feeling tired upon waking &/or waking with a headache

         Chronic fatigue, tiredness, sleepiness during the day

         Struggling to stay awake while driving or doing something passive, e.g. watching TV

         Difficulty concentrating at work

         Slowed or unusually delayed response to stimuli or events

         Difficulty remembering things or controlling emotions

         Frequent urge to nap during the day

         Snoring or ceasing to breathe during sleep

Some sleep disorders are:

         Insomnia- Difficulty initiating sleep, maintaining sleep, &/or non-restorative sleep for at least              1 month

         Narcolepsy-Irresistible attacks of refreshing sleep occur almost daily

         Breathing Related Sleep Disorders- known as  sleep apnoea

         Circadian Rhythm disorders

         Nightmares and night terrors

         Parasomnias-Disturbances in arousal and sleep stage transition

         Sleep Walking (Somnambulism)

Some tips to help you improve your sleep pattern:

•           Follow a strict routine helps regulate your body’s clock and can help you fall asleep at the                     ideal time every night.

•           Power napping may help you get through the day, but if you find that you can’t fall asleep at                bedtime, eliminating even short naps may help.

•           Exercise keeps you going throughout the day, and encourages your body to rest at bedtime.

•           Ensure that your sleep environment is ideal. Bedroom should be cool and free from any noise               that can disturb you. Make the environment more comfortable.

•           Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows

•           Don’t over eat before your sleep and reduce amount of fluid intake so that the toilet visits are               less

•           De-stress with massage techniques before sleeping 

•           Turn power off all electrical gadgets it may cause disturbed sleep and distractions

For any sleep-related problems or disorders, contact our respiratory medicine department at Wockhardt Hospital for more details.