You know you need to get plenty of sleep, if for no other reason than to make sure you don’t feel sleepy during the day. Feeling fatigued can really make the day drag!
Unfortunately, getting enough sleep isn’t easy. Between work, family, and community obligations, it’s easy to go to bed later than you should, but getting enough sleep means more than feeling less grouchy during the day. There are many other reasons to prioritize getting enough sleep every night.
It Can Prevent an Accident on the Road
Being sleepy can be deadly, especially if you’re behind the wheel of a vehicle. If you drive to and from work every day, or if you regularly run errands with the kids, you are putting everyone on the road in danger if you feel drowsy behind the wheel.
It is even more dangerous if driving is your job. For example, truck drivers may not drive more than 60 hours in a seven-day period to help prevent drowsy driving, but even driving for a few hours after a restless night of sleep can be dangerous.
When you get the right amount of sleep at night, you’ll be more alert behind the wheel, increasing your chances of staying on the road and reacting in time to surprises that would otherwise result in an accident.
You’ll Be Healthier
Getting enough sleep is about more than just how you feel during the day. Prolonged sleep deprivation can eventually have a negative impact on your health in a number of ways:
- Those who don’t get enough sleep are at a greater risk of developing cardiovascular problems.
- Low sleep quality and duration can increase the risk of a stroke.
- Those who sleep less than six hours per night regularly are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
- A loss of sleep can impair immune function, leaving you more susceptible to illnesses and disease.
- Poor sleep can increase inflammation, especially among people with some preexisting conditions.
Get enough sleep and you can reduce or eliminate these problems, which means you’ll spend less time in the doctor’s office, and you’ll live a longer life.
You’ll Be Happier
Getting enough sleep can boost your mood for the day, but it can do much more than that. It can actually have a big impact on those who suffer from depression, in addition to those who want to avoid developing this mental illness.
Many people who suffer from depression report experiencing problems getting enough sleep at night. When their insomnia was fixed during cognitive behavioral therapy, the success of their treatment doubled. Therefore, getting enough quality sleep is considered a form of therapy for depressed patients.
Because depressed people often struggle with insomnia, getting enough shuteye at night can also be an effective way to prevent developing depression in the first place. It’s a lot easier to maintain a positive mood when you’ve gotten enough sleep.
You’ll Be More Productive
It can be extremely difficult to focus at work when you didn’t get a good night’s sleep. When you repeatedly suffer from a lack of sleep, your overall productivity will be affected. Applying sleep patches can improve the quality of your sleep. When you repeatedly suffer from a lack of sleep, your overall productivity will be affected.
Although it’s easy to think that doing more work will make you more productive, getting more sleep actually does the trick better than anything else. It helps you recover from distractions, you’ll weigh important decisions more carefully, and it can even affect your memory, not to mention, it can reduce the number of accidents you create in the workplace.
It Can Help You Maintain a Healthy Weight
Eating healthy food and getting enough exercise impact your health and your weight, but it turns out that sleep can have just as much of an impact on helping you maintain a healthy weight.
Not only is weight gain, and the development of type 2 diabetes, reported in adults who don’t get enough sleep, the same is true for children who don’t get enough sleep. There are also some studies that show getting plenty of sleep at night can also help you lose weight, should that be your goal.
Getting enough sleep at night can impact your mood for the next day, but the effects of sleep have a much bigger impact throughout your life. Whether you’re concerned about your health, your productivity at work, or your safety on the road, there are plenty of reasons to make sure you get between seven and nine hours of shuteye each and every night.
Recommended Reading: How to Establish a Good Sleep Routine
Salman is a prolific environmental writer, and has authored more than 500 articles in reputed journals, magazines and websites. He is proactively engaged in creating mass awareness on renewable energy, waste management, sustainability and conservation all over the world.
Salman can be reached on salman@cleantechloops.com
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