Health Importance of Sleep

(Health, Wellness and Awareness 113: Image by stine moe engelsrud from Pixabay)

Mobile Gaming until 12:00 o'clock at night, Midnight Snack at 11, Social Media Addiction - these are some of the common habits of people nowadays. I, myself cannot also deny the fact that often, I sleep so late because of such things. These are the fragments that pushed me to make a research and to creatively craft a content about the importance of sleep to our health and wellness hoping that it would raise awareness to people.

(Health, Wellness and Awareness 113: Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay)

As defined by wikipedia, "Sleep is a naturally recurring state of mind and body, characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and inhibition of nearly all voluntary muscles during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and reduced interactions with surroundings". In our own simple understanding, Sleep is our time to rest and regain our energy from a hard day of work. I am sure that most of the people globally are accustomed to the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep per day, but the early 2015 research of the United States National Sleep Foundation has tabulated the recommended number of sleep hours depending on age bracket.

(Health, Wellness and Awareness 113: Data from the Sleep Health)

With this being said, let us delve into the main course which is the health importance of sleep to our well-being. 

Sleep is a very important thing that every person must be taken in compliance with what health experts advised. Based on several articles that I have read online, it is the time of our body to restore energy, damaged cells, tissues and other parts of the body. Sleep is also said to sustain the normal function of the immune system.

(Health, Wellness and Awareness 113: Image by Claudio Scott from Pixabay)

If proper sleep hours are not achieved on a regular basis, then it can be really compromising to one's health and wellness. Sleep deprivation can lead to weight gain, according to Sleep Doctor, "A fascinating study from researchers at the University of Colorado found that one week of sleeping about 5 hours a night led participants to gain an average of 2 pounds". Lack of sleep can make a person feel weak and sleepy off-course which can deteriorate productivity. It is also linked to several diseases, according to Explore Health, "Inflammation is linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, and premature aging. Research indicates that people who get less sleep—six or fewer hours a night—have higher blood levels of inflammatory proteins than those who get more". Sleep-deprived people also looked stressed with noticeable eye bags and unfair skin that surely no one wants to have.

(Health, Wellness and Awareness 113: Image by Concord90 from Pixabay)

Proper sleep is very important to our health and wellness. Though many of us were forced to still stay awake late at night due to hectic schedules and works-to-meet-deadlines, we still have to draw a line between our health and personal commitments. Thus as I always reiterate, Awareness plays a critical role in the quality of our Health and Wellness.