A GREAT NUMBER OF PEOPLE DON’T GIVE THE NEEDED IMPORTANCE TO SLEEP.
It isn’t uncommon to peek into the professional life of a “successful” person and find a packed schedule full of productive activities, leaving barely five or six hours to sleep, a situation that isn’t sustainable or healthy.
We barely meet someone who proudly brags about eating large quantities of pizza or smoking several packs of cigarettes a day. Still, it isn’t unusual to find people bragging about not “wasting time” sleeping, despite being equally detrimental to their health.
Sleeping is as important as eating and breathing. Sleep deprivation can have a serious impact on cognitive performance. According to some studies, the decision-making skills of a sleep-deprived person are similar to those of a drunk person. A sleep-deprived person is mentally impaired. Back in 1959, Peter Tripp, radio personality, drove himself to insanity while conducting a charity “wakeathon”
The human body is an intriguing structure that finds its balance in many factors. The sleeping process is one of the components that keep our bodies in balance. Whenever we are ready to sleep, the body releases a hormone called melatonin. Melatonin signals the body for “sleep-time,” and it’s responsible for the drowsiness feeling of a sleepy person. However, bright lights (from the smartphone, TV, or even the bathroom mirror) can disrupt melatonin production, making it more difficult to fall asleep.
PROPER SLEEP IS VITAL FOR YOUR MENTAL AND PHYSICAL WELL-BEING
BRAIN FUNCTIONS AND MENTAL WELL-BEING
While we sleep, we are resetting our minds, sleeping properly is a primal component of creativity, problem-solving skills, decision making, and controlling emotions. Studies have shown that sleep deprivation has been a contributing factor in accidents, aggressiveness, emotional distress, irritability, and even suicide.
PHYSICAL HEALTH
Sleeping is part of the process in which we repair tissues, including the heart, blood vessels, and muscle tissue. Lack of sleep is directly connected to heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke. Sleep deficiency also has a negative impact on the balance between the hormones ghrelin and leptin (responsible for controlling hunger), driving us to eat more than needed, which can lead to obesity.
Proper sleep is the key to proper growth in children and muscle recovery in athletes.
Continued and chronic sleep deprivation (even an hour a day) leads to mental states in which, despite being apparently awake, one individual’s mind could be in “sleeping mode” without even being aware of it, leading to extreme risks while driving, or even crossing the street. Sleeping is a component in our daily lives that must be considered seriously and never overestimated.
