THE BENEFITS OF SLEEP
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“Sleep is that golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.” - Thomas Dekker
Are you currently getting enough hours of sleep? How much sleep do you need to be effective? Are any areas of your life suffering because you aren’t getting enough sleep?
We all are guilty of not getting enough sleep at times. However, we can’t make it a habit. If it does become habit, then we end up becoming sleep deprived.
When I miss out on sleep, I am usually less focused and easily distracted.
We can make a million excuses justifying why we are unable to get enough sleep. At the end of the day, the excuses will still be excuses. We all need a good night’s sleep.
According to an article called Sleep and Health from the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, it states that insufficient sleep can be link to the following:
- Day-to-day feeling of irritability,
- Obesity,
- Diabetes,
- Cardiovascular disease and hypertension,
- Deficient immune function,
- Common cold, and
- Decrease in life expectancy.
Go to Bed
My parents would always say three words to me as a child, “Go to bed.” I always felt like I was going to miss something if I went to bed. So I would try to stay up as long as I could before falling asleep. Sometimes I would just stare at the ceiling for hours.
That was as a child. As an adult, I look forward to sleep and I know the benefits of it. I don’t have my parents saying those three words to me now, but I do still hear the same sentiments from my wife these days. When I start working on something, it is quite easy to get lost in trying to successfully complete the project. I may not hear the words, “Go to bed.” But sometimes my wife will say, “Honey, are you going to come to bed?”
There are many reasons why we all need to hear these words, “Go to bed.”
Just remember that sleep is a precious commodity. Use it to your benefit.
Benefits of Getting a Good Night’s Sleep
When we get really busy with other things in our lives, we tend to cheat on our sleep.
I’m not telling you to hit your snooze button and lay in bed all day. You may end up losing your job. However, discover ways of taking back something so precious as sleep.
You may need to take short naps during your short breaks at work or take a longer nap during your lunch breaks. Just make sure you set your alarm clock, phone, or watch so you can get back to work. You may need to go to bed earlier or change your work hours.
Find a way because the benefits of getting a good night’s sleep are worth your time. Here are the benefits of getting a good night’s sleep:
1. You will perform better in every aspect of your life,
2. You will stress less,
3. You will live longer,
4. You will have better control of your weight,
5. You will improve your memory,
6. You will decrease the effectiveness of the chemicals that cause inflammation in our bodies,
7. You will be more creative,
8. You will have a stronger concentration, and
9. You will feel better overall about life
How Much is Enough?
I have heard a variety of people give a wide range of responses when it comes to the proper amount of sleep hours for an adult. The answers have been from six to ten hours of sleep.
According to the Mayo Clinic and other health experts, most healthy adults need seven to nine hours of sleep per night to function at their best.
After writing this blog, I feel the need to go take a nap. How about you?
Make the best of your life by getting more sleep. It is critical to your success.
Please share your thoughts on the benefits of sleep by leaving a comment below, sending me a tweet on Twitter, or by leaving a comment on Facebook. How can get more sleep or improve your sleeping habits?
