Why Do We Need Sleep At Night?

What is the definition of sleep?

The definition of sleep is a state where there is a suspension of both sensory and motor activity which involves either the partial or complete loss of consciousness. Most muscles that are normally moved voluntarily are not active during this period of unconsciousness. So why do we need sleep? We need sleep to give our body and mind time to recuperate from the previous day in time for the next day.

What happens to your body while you sleep?

During the period in which you are asleep your body is in an accelerated anabolic state - tissues found within the human body obtain energy for growth and maintenance at a much faster rate than normal. Sleep is the time where your body does most of its repair work - muscle tissue is rebuilt and restored. One hormone that is secreted during sleep is the hormone for growth which is very important in children, therefore it is highly important to ensure that children get the necessary amount of sleep.

Why do we need sleep?

Many people have asked the question - why do we need sleep? Surely if we didn't need to sleep for such a long time each night then we would have more time for other, more important things? However, we do actually need to sleep and it is a very important process, and there is no doubt that without it people suffer in both a mental and physical sense.

Mental effects of sleep deprivation:-

Lack of sleep directly affects our thinking, or cognitive processes.

If you are trying to be creative, if you have a lack of sleep then the motor doesn't function as well or as fast as it would do normally.

The brain can still perform calculations but it will take much longer.

Reactions will be slowed down so driving while extremely tired can be very dangerous.

The mood changes as well - with lack of sleep people become easily irritated and have a very low level of tolerance.

Physical effects of sleep deprivation

As well as affecting our mental capacity, sleep deprivation can also affect us in a physical sense.

Our coordination suffers greatly and we lose the ability to do things with any kind of agility. Sleeping improves muscle tone and skin appearance therefore if you are sleep deprived your muscles and skin will suffer.

Athletes with enough sleep perform better on average than athletes without enough sleep

J Seymour is a platinum level author specialising in tips and advice for personal issues. For a video about how hypnosis can help with sleep issues click here hypnotherapy for sleep and for the actual recording click here - hypnosis for sleep

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