According to the National Sleep Foundation, you should sleep for at least seven hours. You should, however, not sleep for more than eleven hours. If you fail to get enough sleep, you will experience excessive daytime sleepiness. Your ability to think will also be negatively affected, and you will likely be moody.
On the contrary, sleeping enough will offer you many health benefits. For instance, it will help improve your mental and heart health. Below are more details on why sleeping enough will benefit your health.
Good Quality Sleep Decreases Cortisol Levels
Cortisol is a stress hormone that is produced by your adrenal glands. This hormone works with your brain to regulate your mood. It is the hormone responsible for boosting your energy whenever you are reacting to danger. High levels of this hormone can lead to different cardiovascular issues and weight gain. High blood pressure is also linked to high levels of this hormone.
Lack of enough sleep can lead to increased levels of cortisol. Enough sleep, on the other hand, helps reduce the levels of this hormone. That, in turn, reduces any existing feelings of anxiety and stress. It also reduces the risk of suffering from cortisol-related issues such as high blood pressure and other cardiovascular issues.
Good Quality Sleep Reduces Insulin Resistance
Insulin is a hormone that is usually made by the beta cells in your pancreas. This hormone is responsible for lowering blood sugars levels in your blood. It does this by helping blood sugar to enter into the cells in your liver and muscles, where the sugar is used to produce energy.
If you fail to get enough sleep, the cells in your muscles and liver can stop responding well to insulin. That means that less blood sugar will not be taken from your blood, leading to increased blood sugar levels. When your blood sugar level is higher than normal, you are likely to suffer from type 2 diabetes. Therefore, to reduce your risk of suffering from type 2 diabetes, you should ensure that you get enough sleep.
Good Quality Sleep Favors the Production of Cytokines
Cytokines are a group of glycoproteins, peptides, and proteins that your immune system secretes. They stimulate the movement of immune system cells and blood cells towards inflamed sites and sites affected by an infection. In short, these molecules signal your immune system to do its work.
Cytokines also boost anti-cancer activities. That is why some researchers make lab-made cytokines that they use to treat cancer. Some also use them to manage and prevent the side effects of chemotherapy.
Good quality sleep favors the production of these molecules. That, in turn, makes your immune system effectively fight infections. As a result, your response to illness is improved, shortening the time that your body takes to recover from an illness.
Good Quality Sleep Helps reduce Activity in Brain’s Emotional Centers
Inadequate sleep causes an increase in the activity in your brain’s deep emotional centers. It also causes a shutdown of your medial prefrontal cortex, the region of your brain that regulates anxiety. All this causes an increase in anxiety levels. The opposite happens when you get enough sleep. Therefore, if you often become overly anxious, you should examine your sleeping habits. If you are struggling to sleep you should look into reiki healing which is a form of energy healing in order to reduce your anxiety levels.
Good Quality Sleep Favors Estrogen Production
According to the American Heart Association, sex hormones affect cardiovascular health. One of these hormones is estrogen. This sex hormone helps keep the pressure of the blood passing through your blood vessels low, lowers the levels of LDL cholesterol, and increases the levels of HDL cholesterol. It also absorbs some particles that can damage your heart. All this helps improve your heart health.
When you get enough sleep, your body will likely produce more estrogen. That, in turn, will lower your risk of suffering from heart disease and high blood pressure.
Getting enough sleep can impact your health positively. For instance, it can lower your risk of suffering from different cardiovascular diseases and mental health disorders. All this will happen as a result of the increase in the production of different hormones, including estrogen and insulin.
