Sleep is vital to maintaining a healthy life. A full 8 hours each night can really keep you on you’re A-game. But, what happens if you get more sleep? Will it be beneficial to your health or just make you sluggish?
The answer to these questions is very plain and simple: More sleep can actually help you out in all areas of life. And all you need to do is increase the amount you sleep by one hour. If you get a full 8 hours each night, try to increase it to 9 hours; If you get a mere 7 hours of sleep each night, try to increase it to 8 hours.
But what does that extra hour of sleep really do for your overall health? It’s time for you to know.
More sleep provides you with overall better health.
Even though getting an extra hour of sleep each night won’t ward off horrible diseases and disorders, it will boost your immunity and get rid of severe risks for certain health issues. That’s right, such risks concerning heart health, diabetes, and obesity can be lowered with a little extra sleep.
More sleep can lead to a better sex life.
Many couples have been known to complain about the lack of sex they have when they’re tired. Being tired all the time, and not getting an adequate amount of sleep can lead to a change in your sex life. As a matter of fact, if couples don’t get enough sleep, they tend to push their partner away due to how tired they are. And, lack of sleep in men can produce less testosterone, leading men to not perform as best they can.
In general, too little sleep can affect your love life overall. For example, if you’re falling asleep during date night at the movies, chances are you’ll damage an otherwise perfectly good date.
More sleep can lead to less pain throughout the body.
For those of you that have chronic pain, increasing your sleep by one hour can help lessen that pain. More sleep can even help with acute pain, too. Unfortunately, sleeping while you are in pain is nearly impossible.
However, if you can sort of train yourself to sleep through the pain, you’ll be better off. Adequate sleep, and more of it, actually acts as medication to the body (and then you won’t have to take as much medication, too). But, if you need that additional medication to help subside the pain, try choosing one with a sleep aid already in it. This will allow you to sleep that extra hour along with giving you the opportunity to recover faster.
More sleep can lower your risk of injury.
Sleep deprivation can make you less alert and drowsier in your daily activities. If you’re driving on the job, or if you’re operating dangerous machinery, sleep deprivation can cause horrible accidents to occur. So, with exhaustion comes injury.
Catch up on your sleep. That way you can avoid those accidental trips, those irritating falls, and those pesky cuts to your body. Something that could have been so small, or something that could have been avoided, may be very damaging to your health if you don’t sleep enough.
More sleep can improve your mood.
When you’re tired, you tend to be cranky. With an extra hour of sleep per night, you’ll probably wake up with a better outlook, and you’ll probably sport a better attitude.
That’s not all, though. Less sleep alters your emotional stability. For example, with little sleep, you’ll be more likely to snap at people, you’ll be more apt to lean on emotions like anger and despair, and you’ll be more likely to laugh without being able to stop.
More sleep can help you lose some weight.
If you don’t sleep the same amount each night, and if you don’t sleep an adequate amount each night, you’re probably going to gain a few extra pounds. However, if you keep up with a stable sleep pattern accompanied by the right amount of hours of sleep, you’ll actually be able to cut your weight a little bit.
And unfortunately, if you’re tired, you’ll want to boost your energy somehow. What’s the most obvious way to gain energy for your body to use? Eat some food. In turn, you’ll eat the food and become lazy instead of energized, and will unlikely be willing to go for a jog or walk after work.
More sleep can allow you to think clearly.
Believe it or not, lack of sleep can alter how you think. Specifically, it targets your ability to pay attention, your decision-making processes, and your overall cognition. For example, if you’re tackling a mathematical problem or a logical issue, you won’t get anywhere with little sleep.
Odd mistakes are also likely to occur, such as putting the remote in the freezer.
More sleep will help your memory.
If you’re starting to forget little things throughout the day, it’s probably due to the fact that you’re not getting enough sleep (no, it’s not because you’re developing dementia at your age).
While we sleep, our brains tend to sort through our memories and keep the information we need. Without enough sleep, we could potentially have a few pieces of information fall ‘through the cracks,’ making it harder to remember things.
More sleep can provide the body with a greater immunity.
As stated before, more sleep can lead to an increase in immunity. For example, you’re less likely to get the common cold if you brush up on your sleep.
Studies have actually proven this little fact. For those of you that get 7 hours or less of sleep, you’re more apt to acquiring a cold; As for those of you that get 8 hours of sleep or more, you’re more likely to ward off colds and their symptoms.
So catch up on your sleep, now!
