Sleep Well For Healthy Living

Every health expert recommends enjoying a good night’s sleep as it is of utmost importance for maintaining good health. Many experts say that sleeping is as important as exercising or eating healthy food. But have you ever thought that why sleep is necessary? How quality sleep affects the physical, mental, and quality of life of a person?

What happens when a person is asleep, the body helps in maintaining healthy brain function by increasing and improving learning abilities, concentration, performance, and productivity. No matter whether a person is involved in learning cooking skills, car driving, or piano learning, good night sleeps enhance problem-solving and learning skills and allows the mind to pay attention and makes wise decisions. A sleep-deficient person faces poor concentration problem, is unable to control his emotion, often becomes angry, has mood swings, and so on. Surprisingly, the benefits of good sleep are not limited to maintaining healthy brain function and the emotional well-being of the body.

Benefits of Good Sleep

• Sleep plays an indispensable role in maintaining the good health of the body as it repairs the blood and heart vessels. Sleep deficiency often increases the risk of kidney disease, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and stroke.
• Many researches have proved that quality sleep improves the speed, reaction time, accuracy, and mental well-being of athletes.
• Sleeping disorders make a person prone to a variety of mental health issues. Sleep-deprived people or people suffering from sleeping disorders like obstructive sleep apnea and insomnia often become victims of depression and have the tendency to suicidal attempts.
• Several studies confirmed that a person remains fresh in the morning if he enjoys good sleep during nighttime. And when he is sleep-deprived, it actually affects his social and emotional interaction abilities and makes him confined to four walls.

How Much Sleep is Enough?

Before answering the aforementioned question, it is necessary to understand the “Sleep Cycle” of an individual. The sleep cycle consists of REM (Rapid Eye Movement) and NREM (Non- Rapid Eye Movement) recurring phases. The component of NREM in our sleep is 75-80% of the total night’s sleep. The body functions like repairing tissues and release of hormones that are necessary for sound growth and development, etc., take place during NREM sleep.

REM usually constitutes 25-30% of the total night’s sleep. REM sleep encourages the body to consolidate and process memories, emotions, and stress and stimulates the brain regions used for developing and learning new skills.

Due to snoring, waking up frequently multiple times in a day, and difficulty in breathing activities, our REM, as well as NREM cycles, are interrupted. And when these cycles are interrupted, the body misses out to perform vital body processes. 

Coming back to the vital question of how much sleep is important, the amount of sleep a person requires changes with the age. As per the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), the recommended sleeping hours for different age groups are discussed below:

There is no denying the fact as age progresses, people with advanced age say above 50 years sleep less soundly and their period of wakefulness often increases. Falling asleep during nighttime occasionally is a normal part of aging. However, if a person is experiencing the problem on a regular basis, it is necessary to consult a professional health practitioner.

 “How to ensure a good night’s sleep” is one question that might strike the mind of a few people facing the problem of irregular sleep patterns. Of late, not only adults, even the young generation feel that it is hard to get even quality sleep of 7 hours due to a variety of reasons. But whatever may be the reason, getting good quality sleep is necessary to feel rejuvenated the next day and for leading a stress-free life. Let’s chalk out certain strategies that ensure a good night’s sleep for people of all ages.

Strategies for Ensuring Good Night Sleep  

• Stick to Night Sleep Schedule – Many people complain that if they do not lie on the bed same time, they often tend to sleep less. It is quite right also. When a person goes to bed daily at the same time, he sleeps well. Even if due to some work if he fails to sleep at the same time, make sincere attempts not to extend the bedtime for more than one hour. If a person does not fall asleep in the time frame of 20-30 minutes, he should divert his mind either by reading a book or listening to some music for half an hour and then go to sleep again.
• Create a Peaceful and Restful Sleeping Environment – Dark, quiet and cool atmosphere promotes good sleep. Thus, reduce the exposure to light in the room when it is sleeping time. Either use heavy curtains to block the light coming from windows or wear a sleep mask. Avoid screen exposure like smartphones, television, etc. at least 1-2 hours before bedtime. It is because the blue light emitted by these devices is quite disruptive and disturbs the sleeping pattern. Even opting for calming activities before going to the bed works wonder. For instance, taking a bath just before bedtime promotes good sleep.
• Pay Attention to Eating & Drinking Habits – Eating less and overeating are strict no-nos before going to sleep. The reason is, when a person is hungry, he is unable to sleep properly and even if he sleeps, there is a good chance that he often wakes up after one or two hours due to an empty stomach. On the other hand, eating heavy meals or overeating might affect the digestive function of the body and the discomfort may wake him up for an odd number of hours. Similarly, avoid drinking tea and caffeine before bedtime as these substances affect the quality of sleep in an adverse manner.
• Limit Afternoon Siesta Time – If you are in the habit of enjoying a daytime siesta, try to limit the timing as long daytime naps interfere with the night’s sleep. The recommended time for an afternoon nap is 30 -45 minutes. Secondly, avoid taking naps late in the day.
• Maintain A Healthy and Active Schedule – Indulging in regular physical activity a day for 30-40 minutes promote good sleep. So, try to follow and maintain a strict exercise schedule or indulge in such activities which de-stress your mind like dancing, walking, playing badminton, etc.
• Manage Worries – Factors like stress, anger and worry often disturb the sleeping pattern. Try to handle stress in a productive manner by enrolling in stress management sessions. If anything is worrying, it is a good idea to clear your mind by writing down a diary entry before bedtime. Feel free to express yourself, your fear, worries and concerns. Once you have completed writing, you will feel better and less stressed as writing the problems heals the body in a similar fashion as sharing it with friends or family problems.

Lastly, if the aforementioned habits fail to give you a good night’s sleep on a regular basis, it is an alarming bell. Contact the health professional immediately and try to take the treatment for getting the good night’s sleep that you really deserve.

The Bottom Line

Getting a good night’s sleep is crucial for allowing your brain to function well. Even quality sleep reduces the chances of suffering from heart disease, depression, to name a few. The ideal hours of sleep vary from one generation to another. For adults, 7-8 hours of sleep is sufficient whereas for infants 12-16 hours of sleep is recommended for ideal growth and development of the body. Adopting habits like maintaining a sleeping schedule, keeping the rooms cool and dark during nighttime, and avoiding eating heavy meals during nighttime are a few factors that help in attaining a good night’s sleep.

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