7 Surprising Health Benefits of Getting Sound Sleep

Lack of sleep isn’t just spoiling your daily lifestyle but also degrading the quality of your life. A lack of proper sleep at night can make you cranky and overtime messes up more than just your morning routine and mood. A deficiency of sleep can lead to multiple disorders that gradually can eat up your health. 

According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, sleep deficiency can result in more significant health complications including Kidney failure, Heart attack, Diabetes, Fluctuating Blood Pressure, and Obesity. 

So, if you are finding it hard to sleep at night or you have a hectic schedule that isn’t allowing you to take enough rest, you should consider keeping your sleep as a priority. 

How Much Sleep Do I Need?

The required number of sleeping hours changes as you age. According to the American Academy of Medicine and National Sleep Foundation, the following number of hours are perfect for different age groups. 

Age GroupAgeRecommended Hours of Sleep
Newborn0–3 months14–17 hours
Infant4–12 months12–16 hours per 24 hours
Toddler1–2 years11–14 hours per 24 hours
Preschool3–5 years10–13 hours per 24 hours
School Age6–12 years9–12 hours per 24 hours
Teen13–18 years8–10 hours per 24 hours
Adult18–60 years7 or more hours per night
61–64 years7–9 hours
65 years and older7–8 hours

Getting enough sleep daily is the basic requirement of your body without which it will shut down eventually. There is not so much that you can exert your body without giving it its basic food – Sleep. 

Proper sleep and quality sleep have their benefits. Let’s know the benefits of getting a sound sleep. This might help you change your mind about sleeping only a few hours a day and pushing yourself for nothing. 

Benefits of Getting a Sound Sleep

1. Fight Obesity & Lose Weight

Sleep affects every part of our life. It not only makes us feel fresh and rejuvenated but ensures we have enough energy to run through the day effortlessly. But what if you are not sleeping properly leading you to eat more, and gain more?

Sleep deprivation directly affects our weight. It involves multiple factors including motivation and hormones. Let’s put it this way, sleep deprivation increases the level of ghrelin and decreases the level of leptin. While Ghrelin enhances our hunger, Leptin makes us feel full. When you are sleep-deprived, your body will automatically demand more food, leading you to obesity. 

Sleep-deprived mind will never be motivated to hit the gym or perform any kind of physical exercise, leaving you no choice but to suffice with the body you have right now. 

Hence, sound sleep has an amazing benefit for you when it comes to fighting obesity and fat. 

2. Strengthen your Athletic Power

A good sleeping routine is just a boost for your athletic journey. Sleep can enhance muscle power, problem-solving skills, muscle endurance and fine motor skills, leading you towards a good sports journey. 

However, lack of sleep might result in unwanted muscle injuries, low motivation and brain damage. Proper sleep is the key to starting your sports journey fruitfully.

3. Enhances Concentration & Efficiency

A good night’s sleep can ensure your brain is working properly allowing you to understand, concentrate and perform well in your academic and work career. 

We all have seen that the day we are well-rested, we can perform twice as better as compared to when we are sleep deprived. Sleep is known to increase concentration and problem-solving skills in children, adolescents and adults. 

4. Cures Depression & Anxiety Issues

Sleep-deprived people mostly find themselves demotivated and lacking energy. They eventually fall into depression due to growing anxiety issues. Anxiety increases due to lack of proper sleep and relaxation, keeping the mind active state the entire day. 

Your brain needs its rest to ensure it finds its peace. If you find yourself sleeping only for a few hours and getting up in the middle of the night, you can worsen your depression and anxiety issues gradually. Please do visit a doctor to understand the reason behind your insomnia or obstructive sleep apnea.

5. Maintains Healthy Immune System

Indisputedly, a sleep-deprived body impairs the immune system. Your healthy immune system is not only a result of healthy eating or living a healthy lifestyle, but also sleeping properly for 7 to 8 hours a day. 

Hence, lack of sleep can make you weaker as your system will work slow leading you towards diseases and unwanted infections. To strengthen your immune system ensure you are following a perfect wake-sleep cycle and maintain it no matter what. 

6. Optimises Emotional Response & Social Interaction

We have multiple times in our lives people behaving poorly amidst social groups due to tiredness and frustration. 

Many people refuse to believe that their frustration can be due to sleep deprivation and a tired brain. Your brain does not function properly if you haven’t slept properly even for a single day. Hence, your lack of sleep can directly affect your mood, resulting in improper emotional responses and reduced social interaction. 

7. Strengthens your Heart

When we talk about high blood pressure and uneven breathing, what we are saying is the heart isn’t healthy. 

People who get enough sleep at night do not have blood pressure issues and the brain and the immune system are working on point for them. 

If you aren’t able to sleep properly at night or you have obstructive sleep apnea, which is directly related to an improper breathing issue, you will decrease your mortality rate. Hence, preparing yourself for a good night’s sleep and maintaining a routine every day can help you in the long run in life. 

Tips for good sleep

There can be multiple reasons for you not able to sleep properly at night – too much light & noise in the room, uneven mattress or bad mattress quality, wrong positioning, or improper sleeping time – you need to assess your night routine and mattress to understand where you are going wrong. Your sleep is the most important factor for you to live a healthy long life. Hence, try and concentrate on what is it that might be done wrong while sleeping. 

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