Reasons Why You Need More Sleep

Other reasons you need more sleep are to improve your memory and work habits.

Maybe you need to work extra hours, or you want to stay up late to watch your favorite show. Whatever your reason, you may want to reconsider. Studies show that the gap between getting just enough sleep and getting too little sleep can affect your health, mood, weight, and appearance. If you’re getting less than the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep a night, beware! Here are reasons why you need more sleep.

Increased Health
Overall, the proper amount of sleep improves your health. While getting a good night’s sleep may not grant you immunity from disease, however, it can reduce your risk of health problems such as heart attacks, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.
Improved Mood
You might have noticed that when you’re exhausted, you’re cranky. Not enough sleep affects your emotional regulation. Furthermore, people who don’t get enough sleep can become depressed, which could cause insomnia. Notice a pattern? While more sleep may not make you a morning person, being well rested can make you feel happier.
Better Weight Control
Sleep loss may be making you overweight. Well, not alone, but in combination, it is one of the biggest culprits for weight gain. Getting enough Z’s could help you maintain your weight. If you’re overtired, you might be less likely to have the energy for your workouts to make a healthy meal. Also, it affects you physically. When you don’t get enough sleep, your leptin levels drop. This hormone plays a significant role in making you feel full. A decrease in leptin can make you feel hungrier, even causing you to crave fatty, sweet, unhealthy foods.
Stronger Immunity
According to WebMD, people who got seven hours of sleep a night or less were almost three times likely to get sick as the people who get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. In addition, when we sleep, our body helps repair and rebuild cells more efficiently. Therefore strengthening your immune system to fight sickness and disease.
Improved Memory Function
Feeling forgetful lately? Sleep loss could be to blame. Sleep improves your brain function. Additionally, the right amount of sleep can improve your memory, creativity, and awareness. When we sleep, our brains process and consolidate our memories from the day.
Sleep Helps You to Look Younger
Ever feel like you look terrible after a sleepless night? One of the reasons could be hormonal restoration, which happens during our deepest sleep. In basic terms, deep sleep helps your skin and muscle mass. To learn more about the science behind it, click here.

How to Get More Sleep Tonight

Want to get more sleep tonight? Try some of our suggestions to break your sleeping habits.

Does more sleep seem impossible? With only a few simple changes you can reap the benefits of a restful night’s sleep! Here’s how…

Adjust your bedtime. Try going to bed fifteen minutes earlier each week. This will get your body used to a schedule. Then, go to bed the same time every night. Your body will thank you, and your health depends on it!
Relax before bed. Instead of turning on the TV, take some time for yourself to relax. It could be reading a book or even meditating. Avoid looking at computers, tablets and phone screens. These will overstimulate the mind making it harder to unwind.
Reduce your caffeine intake. Caffeine keeps us alert and ready to start the day. If you just cannot quit your morning cup of joe, consider reducing to half caff. Avoid all caffeine four to six hours before bedtime.
Snack on high-protein foods before bed. Snacks high in protein can provide the L-tryptophan your body needs to process melatonin and serotonin.
Avoid alcohol. Did you know that drinking before bed can make you more restless? It reduces your ability to go into REM sleep, which is important for a good night’s rest.

Hopefully, you are convinced of these reasons why you need more sleep. Try a few of these tips and you will start to see a difference. Your body will thank you, and your health depends on it! If you have any questions, contact The Fitness Studio today!