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Sleep and Your Health
3/4/2015
Do you not feel as great as you’d like? Do you have low energy? If you do, you may think that you’ve got a cold or a mild case of something, but the truth may be much easier to explain: you may not be getting as much sleep as you should. While it’s true that everyone’s body is different and that some people truly do function better on more or less sleep than others, it’s also true that if you skip too much sleep, you’ll start suffering. Here are a few things sleep does for your health.
It commits things to memory. While you sleep, your brain is busy storing away everything you’ve learned that day. In fact, studies have shown that sleeping is actually part of the way the brain learns new things. If you’re not sleeping enough, you may not be learning. Students often stay up late cramming for a test, but sleeping instead may actually help them remember all of the facts they’ve learned better than studying for hours. Several studies have shown that students who have better sleep habits actually make better grades overall.
People with better sleep habits are healthier, too. Those with sleep apnea who had their sleep disorder treated showed a marked improvement in their blood pressure and reported less joint inflammation. People who didn’t sleep as much also had higher levels of C-reactive protein. This protein has been linked to heart attacks.
Not feeling as creative? If you’re dealing with writers block or can’t seem to get your next painting just right, it might be because you’re not sleeping enough. When the brain gets better rest, it seems to restructure its memories and thinking process. The result is an increase in creativity. If you’re stuck on something, take a look at your sleep habits. You might need to get a few full nights’ worth of sleep to get past your creativity block. Hitting up a good day spa can help relax you so that you can get this much-needed rest.
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