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A good night’s sleep is incredibly important for your health. Sleep is a vital, often neglected, component of every person’s overall health and well-being. Sleep is important because it enables the body to repair and be fit and ready for another day.
TheNewsGuru takes a look at 5 benefits of sleep you should not ignore.
1. Good sleep can improve concentration and productivity
Sleep is important for various aspects of brain function.
This includes cognition, concentration, productivity, and performance (All of these are negatively affected by sleep deprivation).
A study on medical interns provides a good example.
Interns on a traditional schedule with extended work hours of more than 24 hours made 36% more serious medical errors than interns on a schedule that allowed more sleep .Another study found that short sleep can negatively impact some aspects of brain function to a similar degree as alcohol intoxication
2. Poor sleepers have a greater risk of heart disease and stroke
Sleep quality and duration can have a major effect on many health risk factors.
These are the factors believed to drive chronic diseases, including heart disease.
A review of 15 studies found that people who don’t get enough sleep are at far greater risk of heart disease or stroke than those who sleep 7–8 hours per night.
3. Poor sleep is linked to depression
Mental health issues, such as depression, are strongly linked to poor sleep quality and sleeping disorders.
It’s been estimated that 90% of people with depression complain about sleep quality (Poor sleep is even associated with an increased risk of death by suicide
Those with sleeping disorders like insomnia or obstructive sleep apnea also report significantly higher rates of depression than those without
4. Sleep improves your immune function
Even a small loss of sleep has been shown to impair immune function .One large 2-week study monitored the development of the common cold after giving people nasal drops with the cold virus
They found that those who slept less than 7 hours were almost 3 times more likely to develop a cold than those who slept 8 hours or more.
If you often get colds, ensuring that you get at least 8 hours of sleep per night could be very helpful. Eating more garlic can help as well.
5. Sleep affects emotions and social interactions
Sleep loss reduces your ability to interact socially.
Several studies confirmed this using emotional facial recognition tests .One study found that people who hadn’t slept had a reduced ability to recognize expressions of anger and happiness. Researchers believe that poor sleep affects your ability to recognize important social cues and process emotional information.
Someone once said: “A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book”.
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