‘Sleep is for the weak’ is a sentiment that has not been shared by science. Much research has gone into sleep, sleeping schedules and its impact on the body. In fact, it has been found that a good night’s sleep is essential for stable mental health and the ability to function properly during the day.
Studies show that if adults do not sleep for at least 7 hours, they can suffer from serious mental health issues which can lead to problems with focus and performance. Your brain works all day and needs to rest so it can wipe all the environmental data that you have collected throughout the day in order for you to function at your fullest potential every day. The wiping of useless data from your brain, allows you to let your mind to be at peace each day.
After achieving the recommended amount of sleep each night, your brain begins to function as a clean slate. This allows you to be able to accept and process new information better than someone who has not had the recommended amount of sleep. It has been shown that trauma victims who do not sleep well suffer from higher anxiety and other mental health problems because sleep is the brains means of healing.
Sleep is also important because it helps improve your memory. This is because your mind works even while you sleep in order to practice the skills that you learnt while you were awake. This is possible because while you are unconscious you use less of your brain and thus your brain is able to practice without impairing your abilities.
There are a number of reasons that sleep is essential to the human body, so make sure that you get plenty of rest to keep yourself in the best possible shape!
Until next time…
SOURCE: Health.com