Take your vitamins. Exercise every day. Drink your water. When you’re looking to get healthier, two main themes emerge: diet and exercise. However, it takes more than eating well and getting up and moving to maintain your health. Recovery is as important as doing the work. That’s where sleep comes in. While you sleep every night, your body focuses on repairing and replenishing tissue and organs. Here’s why you need to focus on getting restful sleep every night:
Adults need about 6-8 hours of sleep each night to function. This isn’t just so you don’t feel tired the next day. Sleep also impacts all of the vital systems in your body. This includes your immune system, which keeps your body healthy and helps fight off sickness when you’re not. Your digestive system and other systems that allow you to manage your weight work while you’re resting. By getting proper sleep, you also lower your risk of chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes.
When you haven’t gotten enough sleep, does your brain feel foggy? You’re not imagining it. You need restful sleep for optimal cognitive function. The parts of your brain that control mood and emotional regulation also need to rest each night. When you get enough restful sleep each night, you reduce your risk of mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.
In today’s world, we are entirely too focused on getting as much done as possible and not wasting any time. Some believe this means that an optimal amount of sleep is the bare minimum. However, this is not the case. Getting the sleep you need leads to better concentration and focus, improved memory and higher levels throughout the day.
Now you know why you need to improve your sleep, but you may not know how. Here are some tips for sleeping better at night:
Sleep is so important, and now you have some of the tools you need to get better, more restful sleep each night. Remember to take time for rest and recovery — you deserve it.
