The Benefits of Sleep to Mental Health are Paramount
If there is anything related to overall health and quality of life that people talk about and focus on more than food, it is sleep. Regardless of the common discussion about not getting enough rest and feeling fatigued, few people recognize the importance of sleep from a health and safety perspective.
Getting Enough Quality Sleep Impacts Overall Happiness
A good night’s sleep is important for maintaining good health throughout your entire life. Consistently waking up feeling rested and refreshed can impact everything from your physical and mental health to your overall happiness.
Sleep plays an important role in learning - so much so that sometimes a good sleep routine can be the difference between a bright student and a successful one, because getting enough rest allows us to use our brains more effectively.
Stress and anxiety can play a role in establishing poor sleep habits in children and adults. If your child is nervous for upcoming exams, struggling to complete a project, or completely overwhelmed by a subject, it might be worth considering ways to help combat their stress and anxiety.
Sleep Helps Children Combat Stress and Anxiety
The average person spends 1/3 of their life asleep, and yet, many of us don’t know why it’s so important. Sleep is necessary for your survival, and for nearly every animal’s survival. In fact, scientific studies have been conducted on sleep requirements, and have found that rats kept without sleep for two or three weeks die just as if they hadn’t been given food or water. Clearly the effects of a lack of sleep can have very serious consequences. This raises two important questions: what are our bodies and brains doing during sleep? And why is the process of sleep so integral to our health?
We may not think about sleep too much, but we know that it is beneficial in some way. We often feel ‘out of sorts’ after a bad night’s sleep but are ready to take on anything after a good night’s sleep. So what are the benefits of sleep for our mental health and why is sleep so important?
- Sleep Keeps Your Heart Healthy
- Sleep May Help Prevent Cancer
- Sleep Reduces Stress
- Sleep Reduces Inflammation
- Sleep Makes You More Alert
- Sleep Improves Your Memory
- Sleep May Help You Lose Weight
- Napping Makes You Smarter
- Sleep May Reduce Your Risk of Depression
- Sleep Helps the Body Repair Itself
There is still a lot that we don't know about the potential benefits of sleep, but one thing is for sure: we can't survive without it. And the closer we are to getting the optimal amount of sleep (that's eight hours for adults and more for kids and teens), the healthier we might be.
Regardless of your age or gender, waking each morning refreshed and ready for your day allows you to better focus, improves your relationships with co-workers and loved ones, and reduces your risk of health issues caused by the effects of a lack of sleep.