Sleep’s Pivotal Role in Good Health
The average person spends about 25 total years of their life sleeping. That might seem like a lot, but time spent asleep is far from wasted. While you are asleep, your body and brain are busy replenishing your immune system, rebuilding muscles, processing and storing information, repairing cells, and ensuring that you are ready to take on another day. Skimping on sleep can have numerous negative health effects, and for good health it is important to make it a priority to get a full night’s sleep every night. At Golden Triangle Emergency Center, we believe in sharing information that can keep you safe, happy, and healthy. Here are some of the great health reasons that you should make adequate sleep a priority.
Sleep Can Help You Live Longer
Simply put, good, regular sleep habits can help you live longer. People that sleep less than six hours a night are at a greater risk for premature death as well as accidents related to sleep deprivation. If you are a chronic insomniac, you may be more susceptible to diseases like obesity, cardiovascular problems, and diabetes. If you experience these or any other health complications, whether from lack of sleep or any other cause, we at GTEC may be able to help.
Sleep Can Help You Manage Your Weight
Have you ever noticed that being very, very tired can make you feel strangely hungry? If so, you have experienced the change in hormones that lack of sleep can cause. When your sleep schedule is out of whack, the hormones that control your appetite and feelings of fullness do not function properly, meaning that you may end up eating more than you should. Good sleep promotes proper hormone levels and can help you maintain a healthy weight. At GTEC, we care about your health, and though we can provide life-saving medical treatment, we urge you to stay healthy and at a good weight so that you reduce your risk of needing emergency medical care.
Sleep Can Help You Sharpen Your Mind
When you are deprived of sleep, your mental abilities decrease and you may notice that you are distracted and less productive at work. It may be harder for you to make decisions, and lack of sleep can also affect your perception. Because one of your brain’s sleeping activities is to process and store memories, losing too much sleep can inhibit the retention of new memories and reduce your ability to learn. These are not the only cognitive impairments caused by lack of sleep. Chronic insomnia or sleep deprivation can lead to a greater risk of depression in later life.
Sleep Can Help You Avoid Accidents
Another serious risk of sleep deprivation is something called microsleep. When you are severely behind on sleep, you may fall into short moments of sleep during the day it is not always noticeable and it is not something that they have control over. In serious cases, microsleep can increase people’s risk of being in an accident. Even if microsleep does not occur, tiredness reduces focus and commonly makes people more susceptible to accident.
Sleep Can Help You Make Better Decisions
There’s a reason why people say they’ll sleep on a problem or major decision. Research indicates that sleeping on something really can provide a person with greater clarity or a fresh perspective. On the flipside, lack of sleep negatively affects mood and makes people more impulsive, and can lead to bad decisions.
The best medicine truly is prevention and getting adequate sleep in a simple and highly effective method of improving overall health, safety, and well-being. At GTEC, we are ready to offer round the clock lifesaving medical care in the event of serious physical harm or health complications.