We have all heard the narrative ‘sleep well, live healthily’. But what exactly this imply?
Basic understanding from research has indicated that quality sleep translates to better health: mental and physical. This can be extended to both quality life and one’s safety. There is a correlation between how you feel when your body is awake and the quality of sleep you have.
In adults, sleep helps to support healthy mental functioning as well as the physical health while in teens and children, it is a chance for body growth and development. Lack of sleep can have far-reaching consequences. Some of which are evidenced immediately and others eventually. Some of the commonly experienced effects of continued sleep deficiency include increased the risk of chronic diseases, poor concentration, lack of productivity, and one’s social behavior among others.
Mental health and general wellness
The basic explanation on the need for sleep to the mental health is ‘your brain gets time to plan for the next day while you are asleep.’ This is time for the brain to refresh. Research had cited that quality sleep is an addition to learning. There is an enhanced mode of thinking, attentiveness, and creativity that comes with quality sleep.
There is sufficient evidence to show that one’s activity is highly affected by sleep deficiency. The issue could go a long way to alter how you solve problems, make decisions or even control your emotions. One’s behavior is also highly influenced by the amount of sleep one has. From suicide to depression, sleep deficient people are likely to have devastating problems.
Social characteristics are negatively affected by the lack of enough sleep in adults and children alike. Many are known to be impulsive and angry, having uncontrollable moods, depression symptoms, poor motivation and unexplainable feeling of sadness. It could affect the ability to pay attention leading to poor productivity.
Physical health effects
Blood vessels and the heart are common organs that are known to undergo healing and repair while asleep. There is a high risk for chronic health problems that comes with prolonged sleep deficiency. They include kidney disease, heart problems, diabetes, stroke, and high blood pressure among others.
Obesity is another risk that comes with lack of sleep. From a study on teens, the chances of a child becoming obese were known to go up for every hour lost without sleeping. The hormones are kept at balance thanks to sleep. Ghrelin, the hunger hormone, is one of the most notable ones. Sleep also influences the activity of leptin, the hormone that controls how one gets full. Lack of sleep increases ghrelin and lowers leptin in the body, making you feel hungrier when awake than when asleep.
The growth hormone in children is also affected by the lack of sleep. The immune system is also negatively impacted by sleep deficiency. The performance is known to be poor as the immune system fails to respond appropriately to attacks due to lack of sleep.