How Sleep Affects Your Overall Well-Being
Sleep heals the body and mind. Everyone needs the proper rest to function at work and deal with other daily issues. Improper amounts of sleep can affect the way people think and feel. Loss of concentration and focus are other common symptoms. Our body was designed to recoup from the daily struggles we all face through an adequate sleep cycle.
Sleep Helps the Body to Heal
Most people think of sleep as the time we spend dreaming of some faraway place. This isn’t the case at all when it comes to getting proper rest. When we fall asleep, our brains work within our systems to heal. The brain sends signals to many other areas of the body to restore health problems.
Restful sleep restores healing to parts of the body that need it. Wounds can heal quicker from adequate rest in bed. Damaged cells are replaced with new ones during the sleep process. White blood cells attack viruses that make us sick to help promote healing. The immune system depends on the recuperative powers within the sleep process to protect our bodies from infection and disease.
Sleep benefits the heart and cardiovascular system. Our heartbeats will slow down. The blood pressure levels will drop during the sleep cycle. Hormones are released that slow everything down. Sleeping can help reduce inflammatory problems.
Hard work takes a toll on the physical system. It can affect the thinking process with the mind. During the sleep process, the mind and body are at ease for the restorative powers released within the brain. An adequate amount of bed rest with deep sleep is essential for the human body to rejuvenate from life’s challenges. A great night of sleep can have anyone feeling more positive the next morning.
Sleep and Mental Health
The sleep process is rather unique. Sleep studies on patients have proven there are two categories of the sleep process. Quiet sleep is when a person first goes to bed to transition into sleep. All bodily functions begin to slow down. The immune system functions begin to increase during sleep.
The second category is called REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. This is when dreaming takes place. All bodily functions increase to normal. This deep sleep process helps to enhance emotional and mental health. It restores the brain’s ability to normal function.
Lack of sleep could be one of the leading causes of so many mental health issues. People with insomnia usually have some sort of problem with mental health disorders. Sleep disruptive patterns affect millions of people.
Lifestyle Changes Can Help
What we consume can affect our ability to get the restful sleep our mind and body needs. Alcohol is a known depressant that can interfere with good sleep. High amounts of alcohol are unhealthy for the physical body. The rest a person receives from alcohol consumption isn’t enough for the body and mind to recuperate from the past day’s activity.
Nicotine is a stimulant that none of us need to consume before bedtime. It can affect the ability to fall asleep. It speeds up the heart rate and the body’s ability to go into the restful period before going to bed each night. Both nicotine and alcohol shouldn’t be consumed before time to go to bed.
Going to bed each night at an appointed time is crucial for a good sleep routine. Avoiding using a television or computer in the bedroom can help people fall asleep faster. Each of us requires around eight hours of sleep each night to be able to function the next day.
Experiment with a nightly sleep schedule to see how it can help. Avoid substances that can interfere with the ability to sleep. Seek out a physician’s advice on what they recommend for sleep issues. The doctor may want medication prescribed to help promote the ability to fall asleep.