As the fall season line-up of TV shows approaches, many of us are going to be tempted to stay up longer in order not to miss anything. However, staying in tune with Scandal and Sleepy Hollow isn’t as essential to your health as 7-9 hours of high-quality sleep every night is! Dr. Robert Rosenburg of Everyday Health is encouraging you to tuck early to tonight for these reasons:
1. Your immune system will function better: Numerous studies have been conducted that linked sleep to our immune system. Collecting the right amount of shut-eye ensures that vaccines will work and decreases your chances of getting sick.
2. You can count on your memory: Sleep is critical for memory consolidation. When you are learning a new skill, trying to recall facts, or remember a procedure, such as how to ride a bike or how to perform your perfect swing at a golf game, sleep will keep you up to speed.
3. Your emotions will be in check: Sleep-deprived people are more likely to experience depression and anxiety disorders. Yes, sleep plays a role in our emotional processing, which explains why going without it can cause you to cry over Starbucks messing up your order.
4. Your brain will be “cleaner”: While we are sleeping, our brains are performing regenerative processes to keep in tip-top shape. New connections and pathways are created, along with the removal of neurotoxin build-up that happens during the day.
5. You will help grow and repair tissue: During sleep most of our growth hormone is produced, making sleep important for children as they are growing and adults for tissue repairs, especially if you are an athlete.
6. Your blood sugar levels will be stable: Sleep-deprived people are more likely to develop diabetes, due to sleep deprivation’s link to insulin resistance. Many health professionals are stressing the importance of sleep to prevent and better treat diabetes.
7. You may shed some pounds: Sleeping 7-9 hours a night is a very underrated weight loss tool. Poor sleep leads to more craving for unhealthy food and your will to say ‘no’ is more likely to be weak.
8. You may add years to your life: Those who consistently sleep less than 7 hours a night don’t live as long, according to numerous studies. Sleep deprivation is linked to strokes, heart attacks, hypertension and the list just is being added to everyday.
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