How a Good Sleeping Habit Helps You Attain Optimum Health

Sleep is something that many of us are too willing to give up just to take on a job, have party with friends or simply finish a book or a television program. Skipping sleep for some time may not have a substantial impact on your health. However, if you keep on depriving yourself of much-needed sleep, you are not doing yourself a favor.

Studies have shown that sleep has tons of benefits. If you want to maintain a healthy and active life for a longer time, then you should not get into the habit of skipping sleep at night. To help underline the importance of sleep, here are some of its benefits:

1. Eases Stress

Many studies have confirmed that people who are not getting enough restful sleep are in an elevated state of stress. As a result of the body's heightened condition, your body releases a lot of stress hormones and your blood pressure is high. In this state, you are more prone to having stroke and heart attack. Ironically, elevated levels of stress hormones could also make it more difficult for you to go to sleep.

2. Boosts Memory

It is important to note that the time your brain consolidates your memories is during deep sleep. While you are dreaming away, it is the time when your brain processes all the things that you learned, creates sensory inputs, and makes connections between feelings, events and memories. Thus, you need to allocate time for sleeping too.

3. Prevents Certain Types of Cancer

Experts believe that people who work late or in graveyard shifts are more prone to developing colon and breast cancers. They say that the connection lies on the levels of melatonin, a hormone that makes us sleepy, in the body. Studies have shown that melatonin prevents the growth of tumors. However, light during the night suppresses the production of melatonin. If you happen to work at night, make sure that your bedroom is completely dark so that you can sleep properly and produce melatonin even if you sleep during the day.

4. Keeps You Alert

Experience will tell you that after a good night's slumber, you will wake up energized and ready for the day ahead. On the contrary, if you are sleep deprived, you feel sluggish and unaware of your surroundings. Aside from drunk driving, people who fall asleep while driving are also responsible for a lot of vehicular accidents in the country.

5. Minimizes Your Risk Of Depression

Aside from melatonin, the other hormone or brain chemical also affected by sleep is serotonin, which is responsible for your mood and feelings. If you don't get to sleep soundly at night, your levels of serotonin might suffer, increasing your chances of developing depression. If you do not want to experience bouts of depression, be sure to snooze for 7 to 9 hours every night.

6. Promotes Healthy Heart

Statistics show that strokes and heart attacks are more common during the early hours of the morning. This may be caused by the manner in which slumber interacts with your blood vessels. Specialists believe that lack of proper sleep can make cholesterol and blood pressure levels worse.

7. Helps In Weight Loss

Did you know that the more you skip sleep, the bigger your chance of gaining weight is? It seems that the hormones that control appetite in people who are sleep deprived are disrupted. If you do not sleep well, you are more prone to eating a lot the day after.

8. Aids Body In Making Necessary Repairs

While you are sleeping, your body also starts repairing the damage caused by ultraviolet rays, stress, free radicals and other harmful exposures. This is the time when your body creates more protein molecules, which are the building blocks of cells.

If you are suffering from insomnia or having difficulty sleeping, consuming sleeping pills might not be the best for you because these pills can be habit forming. Instead, you can try sleep supplements, such as Somulin, which are composed of natural ingredients that are safe and effective.

For more details, simply visit http://www.somulin.com/

Janet Martin is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and published author. Many of her insightful articles can be found at the premiere online news magazine http://www.thearticleinsiders.com

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