Sleep. We all do it. But why is it so important and how can it keep us healthy? How can it help…
Your emotional well-being?
Whilst you sleep, your brain prepares for the next day. It also helps you remember things. So, if you have a performance and need to remember your lines, try getting a good nights sleep.
Your physical health?
“Okay, so sleep is shockingly important for your emotions but what does it do for your physical health?” many people ask. Well, prepared to be amazed. Probably you didn’t know that the lack of sleep is related to an increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke. Furthermore, if you lose sleep, there is a greater risk of obesity.
Your performance throughout the day?
You can probably guess that sleep loss would make you feel slightly tired throughout the day. However, you most likely won’t know that even losing a tiny amount of sleep can lead to micro-sleeps, which are brief moments of uncontrollable sleep during times when you would normally be awake. As you can imagine this would be especially problematic when driving. Speaking of driving – did you know that driver sleepiness causes approximately 100,000 car accidents resulting in around 1500 deaths each year?
You may be wondering: how much sleep do I need? It really depends on your age: Infants below 1 year of age should get about 12-16 hours of sleep. Children aged 1-2 years old should have 11-14 hours of sleep; 3-5 year olds need 10-13 hours, and 6-12 year olds need 9-12 hours. If you are a teenager, 13-18, you should make sure you get 8-10 hours of sleep and adults are recommended 8-7 hours sleep per night.
I will certainly be trying to get some more sleep, although I…I am not t-tired at all…zzzzzz.
By: Martha