We have all heard that getting eight hours of sleep is good for your health, but do you know why? Getting a good night’s sleep of seven to eight hours can be great for your physical and mental health. If you are consistently getting less sleep each night, you may start to see the effects on your body and not understand it is from a night of improper sleep.
When you wake up do you still feel tired or groggy? That could be because your sleep habits need to be adjusted. There are ways to help your body sleep better before even falling asleep. This could be changing your diet, not eating big meals before bed, going to bed around the same time each night, or not overstimulating yourself before you are going to try to sleep. Either way, good or bad sleep can have effects on the body no matter what.
Effects of Bad Sleep
Weight Gain: Gaining weight has been proven to be a possible effect when not getting enough sleep. If you were to sleep six hours or less, your body may produce less leptin, a hormone in your body that tells you that you are full, and more ghrelin, a hormone that signifies hunger. With those two at work, it could cause your body to gain weight faster than if you were to get a full night’s rest.
Health Problems: One of the biggest risks you may be putting on yourself from not sleeping enough would be worsening your health. Sleep disorders can lead to things like heart problems, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Mental Issues: Sleeping is key when it comes to thinking and learning. If you take sleep away, you may start getting issues in reasoning skills, attention, and concentration. It could make the process of learning much harder for you. It can also greatly affect your memory. When you sleep, your brain gets to work on remembering your day and such. If you are getting less sleep, your mind won’t be able to retain memories as well and the information may get impaired.
Sexual Health: Testosterone is vital to a man’s health. When a man sleeps he will produce testosterone into the body. Testosterone can help with a man’s libido, muscle strength, bone density, memory, and all-around health. If a man is not getting the proper amount of sleep, his testosterone levels will decrease.
A Good Rest
A good night’s sleep can help combat everything listed above as well as help you feel more awake and alert in the mornings. Having a proper diet, exercising regularly, and keeping up a maintainable sleep routine can all be ways to help you get that full eight hours that you deserve and need.
A simple change of the lighting, noises, or even putting your phone down an hour before bed can be a great habit to get in. Adding white noise or ocean noises can help lull you to the perfect eight hours.
