Adequate sleep is a key part of a healthy lifestyle and can benefit your heart, weight, mind, and body overall.
Sleep plays a vital role in promoting physical health, giving you long life and emotional well-being. That’s why after a good night sleep you feel better, making your thoughts more clear and your emotions less fragile.
How much sleep do you need?
| STAGES OF LIFE | AGE | DAILY REQUIREMENT OF SLEEP | ||
| NEWBORN | 0-3 MONTHS | 14-17 HOURS | ||
| INFANT | 4-12 MONTHS | 12-15 HOURS | ||
| PRESCHOOL | 3-5 YEARS | 10-13 HOURS | ||
| SCHOOL AGE | 6-13 YEARS | 9-11 HOURS | ||
| TEENAGE | 14-17 YEARS | 8-10 HOURS | ||
| ADULT | 25-60 YEARS | 7-9 HOURS | ||
| OLDER ADULT | 65 > | 7-8 HOURS | ||
How is sleep beneficial to me?
Sleep keeps your heart healthy:
Lack of sleep has been associated with worsening of blood pressure and cholesterol, which are risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Your heart will be healthier if you get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each night.
Sleep reduces stress levels:
The increase in stress hormones increases the level of inflammation in your body, which creates a greater risk for heart-related conditions, as well as cancer and diabetes.
Sleep reduces inflammation:
Light exposure reduces melatonin levels, a hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. Melatonin is thought to protect against cancer, as it appears to suppress the growth of tumors.
Sleep improves your memory:
Lack of sleep often leads to memory problems with facts, faces, lessons, or even conversations. Sleeping well eliminates these difficulties because, as you sleep, your brain is busy organizing and correlating memories. One of the great benefits of sleep is that it allows your brain to better process new experiences and knowledge, increasing your understanding and retention.
Helps control body weight:
Lack of sleep impacts the balance of hormones in the body that affect appetite. Unfortunately, this increase in appetite doesn’t lead to a craving for fruits and veggies. Rather, your body longs for foods high in calories, fats, and carbohydrates making you obese.
Helps you get healthier skin:
Good sleepers recovered better after ultraviolet light exposure. They also showed fewer signs of aging thus getting you a radiant, young skin.
Helps prevent migraines and other headaches:
If you find yourself cringing due to sudden head pain, look at your sleep schedule. Poor sleep quality is noticed to be associated with an episodic migraine.
How can I sleep better?
Experiment with the following tips to find the ones that work best to improve your sleep and leave you feeling physically active, mentally sharp, emotionally balanced, and full of energy all day long.
Avoid Caffeine, Alcohol, Nicotine, and Chemicals that Interfere with Sleep:
All coffee lover knows caffeine is a stimulant that can keep you awake. So avoid caffeine for 4 to 6 hours before bedtime. Similarly, smokers should stay away from using tobacco products too close to bedtime.
Go to Sleep When You are really Tired:
Struggling to fall asleep just leads to frustration. If you’re not asleep even after 20 minutes, get out of bed, go to another room, and do something relaxing, like reading or listening to music until you are tired enough to sleep.
Create Comfortable sleep inducing environment:
A quiet, dark, and cool environment can help promote sound sleep. Use heavy curtains, blackout shades, or an eye mask to block light.
Keep the temperature of your room comfortably cool. Keeping computers, TVs, and work materials out of the room will strengthen the mental association between your bedroom and sleep.
Your mattress and pillow can contribute to better sleep. If you share your bed, make sure there’s enough room for two. If you have children or pets, try to set limits on how often they sleep with you.
Try to go to sleep and get up at the same time every day:
This helps set your body’s internal clock and optimize the quality of your sleep. Choose a bed time when you normally feel tired, so that you don’t toss and turn in the bed.
Try to stick as closely as possible to your routine on weekends also to avoid a Monday morning sleep hangover. Waking up at the same time each day is the very best way to set your biological clock.
Exercise daily:
Exercise can help you fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly—as long as it’s done at the right time. Exercise stimulates the body to secrete the stress hormone cortisol, which helps activate the alerting mechanism in the brain.
Lighten Up on Evening Meals:
Finish dinner several hours before bedtime and avoid foods that cause indigestion. If you get hungry at night, snack on foods that won’t disturb your sleep, like dairy foods and carbohydrates.
