Health – Sleep

Sleep

In addition to diet and exercise, sleep is very important for a healthy life style.  Sleep affects both mental and physical health.  Several studies conducted by scientists revealed that sleep plays a critical role in immune function, metabolism, memory, learning and other vital functions.

A good night sleep consists of 4 to 5 sleep cycles.  Each cycle include periods of Deep Sleep and Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep, when we dream.  Too much or too little sleep shorten the life span,  less than six hours and more than eight hours sleep leads to early death.

People who sleep less than six hours have inflammatory protein level high in their blood.  Inflammatory protein is linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis and premature ageing.  People who get six hours of sleep a night or less were almost three times as likely to get sick as the people who got at least eight hours of sleep a night.

A good night sleep benefits you to control your weight.  The hormone Leptin produced by fat tissues acts on the brain to regulate food intake and weight.  If you are not getting enough sleep, Leptin level drops and you feel hungrier and they seems to crave for high – fat and high calorie foods specifically.  A good night sleep keeps the Leptin level normal and makes you feel full.

When you are asleep, your brain and body are not taking rest; the internal organs and mind are busy working.   Studies have shown that while we sleep, our brain processes and consolidate our memories from the day.  Loss of seep affects your thinking, attention and decision-making.

Good sleep improves your memory.  During sleep you strengthen your memories or skills learned while you were wake (consolidation).  Something happens while you sleep that makes you learn better.  If you are trying to learn something new, you will perform better after a good sleep.

Lack of sleep can contribute to depression and stress; slow in reaction time and decision making, memory etc.  When you are very tired you are more likely to get angry, burst in tears or laugh uncontrollably. 

Adequate sleep is very important for healthy life and can benefit your heart, weight, mind – mood, memory, learning, reasoning, reaction and decision making.   Go To HEALTH INFORMATION

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