Benefits of sleep

Every college student knows the consequences of an all-nighter, or even a later-night for that matter! Your eyes do not want to stay open, you can barely drag yourself from your dorm room to class and everyone just happens to be talking much louder than usual. You promise yourself that you will never stay up that late again, but week after week it seems to be a reoccurring event. Soon, though, your body will give way to sickness, giving you no choice but to catch up on that much-needed rest.

Why do we need sleep so much? The simple answer is that our bodies need the period of inactivity to recharge and reboot our immune systems. But this is just the tip of the iceburg.

Sleep first and foremost repairs your body, creating proteins during your resting period that will boost immunity and fight against any bacteria encountered throughout the day. It also aids in regulating your cholesterol levels and blood pressure, and helps to prevent heart disease.

Secondly, after a day in our racing society, our bodies are in desperate need of sleep to help reduce stress. When we give our bodies full permission to relax they slow down, producing a lower amount of degenerative cells, thus slowing the aging process.

Sleep has also been clinically proven to regulate weight by controlling the hormones that promote a healthy appetite. If you interrupt your normal sleep schedule, it affects when you are hungry and the foods you crave. Also, type-two diabetes is more common in sleep-deprived individuals, who tend to snack on carbohydrates more often than others.

Sleep not only improves your memory by helping out with clarity of thought, it also helps balance emotions. If restricted sleep becomes a habit, it can severely damage a person’s mood, and can even contribute to depression or panic attacks.

Whether you are five, ten, twenty or even eighty years old, sleep is indispensible and is vital to your health. Many people believe that one or two sleepless nights cannot do any harm, but this is a falsehood. Sleep provides the foundation for our daily life. The benefits you reap from a good night’s rest far outweigh the thrills of the nightlife.