The Importance of Sleep

I do it every night. The movie star, the athlete, and even the president do it every night. You do
it every night, too. What exactly is the “it” we’re talking about here? It’s sleep and it's far more
important for your health than you may realize.

We have all experienced what happens when we don’t get enough or have a poor night's sleep.
We’re groggy, irritable, forgetful, and simply not the best versions of ourselves. Sleep is
essential for our immune system, energy restoration, emotional health, and muscle recovery.
However, for something that is so important and such a part of our everyday (or rather every
night) lives, we know very little about sleep.

As we previously said, sleep offers a wide variety of benefits which is why it is important to
make sure you are getting enough sleep. The amount of sleep you should get will vary from
individual to individual with things like genetics and age factoring in to determine how much
sleep you’ll need. Generally, for adults ages 18 and up the recommended amount of sleep is
between 7 and 9 hours. For teenagers, it’s between 8 to 10 hours and for children ages 6-13 it’s
9-11 hours. Be conscious of your body to determine how much sleep you’ll need. Notice how
you feel on days when you get 7 hours of sleep versus days when you get 9 hours of sleep. If
you received 7 hours of sleep and are tired all day, you likely need more sleep. If you got 9
hours of sleep but feel worse than you did when you got 8 hours of sleep, you may need less.
Keeping track of these things will help you determine the ideal amount of sleep you need. We
recommend a sleep tracking app on your phone or a sleep journal, these will better help you
keep track of all this data and determine the best amount of sleep for you.

I’ve made it through the day with only 3 hours of sleep before, why can’t I keep doing
that?

Inevitably, there will be days when we’ll have to wake up before we’ve gotten our optimum
amount of sleep. Sometimes we’ll have a hard time falling asleep, or a car alarm will wake us
up early in the morning, or we have an early flight to catch. Not getting enough sleep will
happen. However, it is important to avoid sleep deprivation as much as possible. Sleep
deprivation will lead to problems with your memory, poor sexual health, weight gain, and
weakened immunity.

During sleep, your brain and body remove proteins and plaque that may have accumulated
throughout the day. So if you don’t get enough sleep, you won’t get rid of all these proteins and
plaques and the more they build up the more they will impair your ability to retain and process
new information. That’s why you’ll sometimes feel a “brain fog” on days when you did not
receive enough sleep.

Sleep deprivation will also lead to decreased libido. During sleep, your body regulates and
produces more neurotransmitters and hormones. A lack of sleep will lead to a reduction of the
testosterone hormone which in turn leads to decreased sex drive.

Poor sleep will also adversely affect your body’s metabolism, which can lead to weight gain.
And sleep is rest not just for your brain, but also for your immune system. Poor sleep will lower your
body’s ability to fight off infection and disease.

Getting enough sleep is always much easier said than done, but when you look at the benefits
of good sleep and the detriments of poor sleep, it becomes clear that we should all try to get the
proper amount of Zzzs that our bodies need. Even if we fall short of our 8-hour goal, it is
important that we try.

Author bio– Jane Silverstein is the owner of Soul Source Therapeutic Devices located in Los Angeles.
She is committed to women’s health issues and to helping women worldwide regain and/ or maintain their sexual health. She is passionate about helping others and has always been involved in a multitude of charitable causes.

Headshot– https://prnt.sc/ZlU4MoFDYpqw