Why Is Sleep Essential?

Let’s start with the basics. What is sleep?

Medically speaking, sleep is a naturally occurring state of body and mind, identified by altered consciousness, relatively dulled senses, inhibition of nearly all voluntary muscles and reduced interactions with surroundings.

During sleep, the body is in a state of regeneration, helping to restore the immune, nervous, skeletal, and muscular systems. These are vital processes, which maintain mood, memory, and proper functioning of the mind. Almost all mental processes are in a state of restoration, from problem solving and decision making to reasoning and language skills. Basically, sleep helps your body fix itself after a hard day of work.

Why is sleep essential for your mental health?

All throughout the night, the brain processes the memories that you’ve collected over the day to long-term “storage”. This helps you recall stuff better the next day and the day after that, whether it be the random flashback to that store sign, or the notes you’ve studied for your test the next day. Creatively, sleep helps you think out of the box. Studies have shown that people without proper sleep had difficulty forming complex sentences and understanding the same.

Why is sleep essential for your physical health?

Physically, sleep is when the body produces various enzymes; the stuff your body produces to maintain processes like digestion and circulation of blood, along with a whole host of maintenance functions. People who don’t sleep enough are at a higher risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes and irregular blood sugar. Professional bodybuilders will tell you enough sleep is essential for regeneration and maintenance of muscles.

In conclusion, sleep is when your body works to keep everything in proper working order, from digestion to making sure you know what’s going on around you. Making sure you get the right amount of sleep is crucial to your well being. For more info on how much sleep you need, check out our blog post titled “The essential guide to Recommended Sleep Durations.”