Turn Your Light Off…

The foundations of good health are good diet, good exercise and good sleep. Healthy sleep habits have a pervasive effect and are crucial to health and well-being at any age.

Sleep, we all love it, especially when you wake up from a good night’s sleep, always makes you feel better in the morning, and free from under-eye circles problem. Aside from that, sleeping is playing an important role of a healthy lifestyle. Sleeping is  good for your heart, weight, mind, and more. 
A healthy sleep routine can contribute greatly to one’s physical and mental well-being as well as the quality of life in general. Sleep not only recharges our energy levels but actually recharges the body’s systems. Mental well-being is also one of the sleep health benefits we get from rest. Getting proper, regular sleep helps the mind to unwind, regroup and cope with stress and other issues.

Here are the reasons why sleeping is very important for your health and how it improves the quality and the length of your life:

• Stronger Immune System => Your body produces extra protein molecules while you’re sleeping that helps strengthen your ability to fight infection and stay healthy. These molecules help your immune system mend your body at a cellular level when you are stressed or have been exposed to compromising elements such as pollutants and infectious bacteria.

• Weight Control => Sleep helps regulate the hormones that affect and control your appetite. Studies have shown that when your body is deprived of sleep, the normal hormone balances are interrupted and your appetite increases. Unfortunately this increase in appetite doesn’t lead to a craving for fruits and veggies. Rather, your body longs for foods high in calories, fats, and carbohydrates.

• Reduced Risk of Depression => Sleeplessness can lead to imbalances in the release of stress hormones, such as cortisol. Potential consequences are weakening of the immune system, risk of a variety of chronic illnesses as well as psychological effects; many people become agitated or moody the following day. Lacked of sleep is one cause of moodiness, irritability and lack of interest in routine activities. If these conditions continue, they can lead to mental disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, memory loss, mood swings, stroke and depression. Sleep deprivation may also have a significant impact on one’s life expectancy.

• Heart Health => A good night’s sleep can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol, which are major risk factors for heart disease and strokes (among other things).

• Brain & Memory Boost => Regular sleep allows your brain to process information more quickly and completely; your mind can comprehend new concepts more quickly and you will be more creative, intellectually acute overall with plenty of rest. Learning new skills will also be easier, as your concentration is improved. Memory consolidation happens while you sleep; during the night, your body processes the previous day and makes connections between events, sensory input, feelings, and older memories. Depriving yourself of sleep can lead to memory loss and related problems.

• Increased Coordination => If you participate in any sports or other activities that require coordination and physical fitness, a good night’s sleep will ensure you are at the peak of your abilities. Your ability to work out and build muscle and endurance is also enhanced with consistent rest.

• Alertness & Productivity => Regular sleep increases your alertness and energy levels, causing you to be more productive and engaged the next day.

• Improved Physical Appearance => The term “beauty sleep” has very real connotations, because while you sleep your body restores and regenerates itself, including your skin and muscle tissue. Lacked of sleep speeds up the aging process, resulting in dull skin, wrinkles, and dark under-eye circles.

Those reasons explains why, after a good night’s sleep, you feel better, your thoughts are clearer, and your emotions are less fragile. Without adequate sleep, judgment, mood, and ability to learn and retain information are weakened.  So, turn your light off, nighty night… sleep tight!!

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