How To Get A Good Night's Sleep? Sleep is as important as food and air

Sleep is essential for a person’s health and wellbeing, according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF).

Sleep is as important as food and air. It is a necessary function required to support all human life, growth, development and brain function.

Sleep keeps your mind alert and calm. It helps you in optimal daily functioning.

If you wake up tired after sleeping for eight hours or longer, more sleep is not what you need. A better quality of sleep is what's needed rather than more sleep. Deep sleep is the most important type of sleep our body needs.

What is sleep?

Sleep was long considered just a block of time when you are not awake. But sleep studies done over the past several decades, have discovered that sleep has distinctive stages that cycle throughout the night. Your brain stays active throughout sleep, but different things happen during each stage.

For instance, in one stage, you feel well rested and energetic the next day, and in another stage you learn or make memories.

During a normal night, people usually cycle through the various stages several times.

How much sleep is enough?

Sleep needs vary from person to person. These needs vary throughout the lifecycle.

Most adults need 7-8 hours of sleep each night.

Newborns sleep between 16 and 18 hours a day. Children in preschool sleep between 10 and 12 hours a day.

However, some individuals are able to function without sleepiness or drowsiness after as little as six hours of sleep. Others can't perform at their peak unless they've slept ten hours.

Some people believe that adults need less sleep as they get older. But there is no evidence to show that older people can get by with less sleep than younger people. Older people are also more easily awakened.

Research suggests that a lot of people can be reassured that six or seven hours sleep is okay. The acid test for enough sleep is whether you are sleepy or alert throughout the day. If you are alert, then your sleep is probably adequate. But sleep is more important than you may think.

Why sleep is good for you?

Does it really matter if you get enough sleep? Yes. Both quantity & quality of sleep matter, but the quality of your sleep is important as well.

In other words, how well rested you are and how well you function the next day depend on your total sleep time and how much of the various stages of sleep you get each night.

Performance: We need sleep to think clearly, react quickly, and create memories. In fact, the pathways in the brain that help us learn and remember are very active when we sleep.

Skimping on sleep has a price. Cutting back by even 1 hour can make it tough to focus the next day and can slow your response time.

Studies also find that when you lack sleep, you are more likely to make bad decisions and take more risks. This can result in lower performance on the job or in school and a greater risk for a car crash.

Mood: Sleep also affects mood. Insufficient sleep can make you irritable and is linked to poor behavior and trouble with relationships, especially among children and teens.

Health: Sleep is also important for good health. Studies show that not getting enough sleep or getting poor quality sleep on a regular basis increases the risk of having high blood pressure, heart disease, and other medical conditions.

In addition, during sleep, your body produces valuable hormones. Deep sleep triggers more release of growth hormone, which fuels growth in children, and helps build muscle mass and repair cells and tissues in children and adults.

Another type of hormone that increases during sleep works to fight various infections. This might explain why a good night's sleep helps keep you from getting sick and helps you recover when you do get sick.

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