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That sounds good doesn’t it? Let’s all rest more. I mean, you have always been told that getting enough sleep is important… but why? Getting enough sleep can help protect your mental health, physical health, quality of life and overall safety.
Physical Health:
Sleep is necessary to allow your body to rest for overall healing and repair. Ongoing sleep deficiencies are linked to an increased risk for heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke.
Lack of sleep increases risk for obesity and diabetes due to an inbalance of hormones that make you feel hungry or full. Sleep is responsible for maintaining this balance. Sleep also affects how your body reacts to insulin, responsible for blood sugar control.
Your immune system relies on sleep to maintain health and defend your body against infections.
It supports healthy growth and development and plays an important role in puberty and fertility.
Healthy brain function/Emotional well-being:
Sleep helps your brain to function properly. While you sleep your brain is forming new pathways to help you learn and remember. Decreased amounts of sleep will impact learning abilities and problem solving skills. Sleep deficiency has also been linked to depression, suicide, mood swings, sadness and decreased motivation.
Daytime performance and safety
Those who don’t get a sufficient amount of sleep are shown to be less productive at work and school. Even a loss of 1-2 hours of sleep at night after several nights your body functions as if it hasn’t slept at all for 1-2 days.
It has been shown that sleep deficiency can impair daily functions including impairing your driving ability even more than driving intoxicated. According to the National Highway Safety Administration an estimated 100,000 car accidents a year are the result of driving with lack of sleep, resulting in 1,550 deaths. It can also impair function at work and has been shown to be linked to tragic accidents at work.
As you can see from above sleep is VERY important. While everyone’s individual sleep needs vary, in general, healthy adults need an average of 8 hours of sleep at night. Some individuals may be able to function without impact on as little of 6 hours while others can’t perform at their peak unless they’ve slept 10.
A survey performed by the National Sleep Foundation reveled that at least 40 million Americans suffer from over 70 difference sleep disorders and 60 percent of adults report having sleep problems several nights a week. If you are struggling with sleep, consult your physician to see what steps can be taken to improve how you rest. Rest is BEST.
Life Care Center of Ocala
Not all skilled nursing and rehab centers are the same, and that’s certainly true of the Life Care Center of Ocala. Along with state-of-the-art medical care, Life Care Center of Ocala offers homelike amenities with added luxuries, such as a beauty salon, ice cream parlor, restaurant style dining and 24-hour security all within a serene environment. Private rooms and suites are also available, as well as a number of indoor and outdoor areas for residents and patients to host family visits.
To find out more about Life Care of Ocala, or to book a personalized tour, please call (352) 873-7570, or visit their website at www.LifeCareCenterOfOcala.com to view their services and to peruse their newsletter to find out what other residents have to say about living at Life Care.
352.873.7570 | 2800 SW 41st St. | Ocala, FL 34474 | www.LifeCareCenterOfOcala.com
References:
“Why Is Sleep Important”. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Updated February 22, 2012.
“Why sleep is important”. American Physiological Association. http://www.apa.org/topics/sleep/why.aspx
