More Sleep to Your Health
When it comes to being healthy, the majority of us (myself included) mainly focus on nutrition and exercise. We all know that for a healthier life we need to stay active, get the blood pumping every day, and make smart food choices (eat more vegetables and high-quality proteins). That combination sets us up nicely but the final piece that people commonly overlook is sleep.
Get that shut-eye
We all love to sleep, what we don’t like is dragging ourselves out of our cozy bed in the morning, but who does?
Minus the obvious morning zombie syndrome that we all face from day to day, actually getting enough sleep every night can have a huge effect on the body.
From improving your immune system, to helping you manage a healthy weight, to improving your cognitive functions, sleep can really help heal your body and mind.
Immune System Booster
Want a simple way to prevent the common cold? In a recent study on fruit flies, it was found that the flies were able to resist and even recover faster the more sleep they obtained.
The longer they slept the faster their recovery time was. One reason this may be possible is that when you are asleep there are fewer immune system disruptions that can occur than when you are awake! So the next time you catch a cold, go take a long nap!
Maintain a Healthy Weight
While you may be exercising and dieting correctly you may want to help boost the effectiveness of this lifestyle by getting the optimal amount of sleep.
Science has indicated that if you keep consistent bed and wake times you can greatly affect your body fat. The research illustrated that individuals with a consistent bed and wake time AND who slept 6.5 to 8.5 hours a night (not more, not less) had significantly less body fat.
Of course, this doesn’t correlate to every person but it does illustrate that getting sleep can help your body run at its optimal fat burning rate!
Improve Your Memory
So you are getting older and losing it? Well, maybe you are starting to misplace your wallet, keys, car, or even your house (sleep might not help with that one)?
Make sure you are getting enough sleep to help improve these cognitive processes. It’s been found that during sleep your mind actually strengthens the connective tissues, improves brain health, and processes your memories!
Sleep allows you to process things that occurred to you in the previous day into useful memories. More sleep equals a healthier, stronger mind!
Wrap-Up
Okay, you got it; sleep is good for you! But how much should you get a night?
The CDC (Centers of Disease Control and Prevention) recommends that adults get 7-8 hours while teens get 9-10 hours.
So the next time you are feeling sick or you want to remember where your house is, remember to start getting enough sleep! How many hours are you getting a night?
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