How Sleep Affects Your Health and Productivity
Sleep is often neglected in our busy world but is one of the strongest influencers of our health and well-being. Many individuals do not consider the the influence of sleep on everything from their health, performance, and well-being, simply cutting into sleep for work, studying, and entertainment. Numberous studies have established that adequate sleep, quality sleep is required for physical health, mental clarity, emotional balance, and productivity.
In this article, we will explore the effects of sleep on your body, mind, and daily performance, why some people experience poor sleep, and tips for helping sleep for better health and productivity
Why is Sleep important
Sleep is not simply a state of rest; it is a highly elaborate biological process when your body restores itself, restores muscle, tissue and organs, boosts immune function and consolidates your memory. The body will also be activated without the proper amount of sleep.
The Body and the Role of Sleep
Physical restoration – Sleep is vital for the repair and recovery of muscles, tissues, and organs.
Brain function – During deep sleep the brain drives its synthesis of information, fortifies long term memory consolidation and increase clearance of toxic substances.
Hormones – Sleep can influence the hormones that regulate hunger, stress, and growth.
Energy – Adequate sleep provides the required energy for day to day activities, cognitively and physically.
The Effects of Sleep on Productivity.
Many people believe that working longer and forgoing sleep due to late-night screens will allow them to get more done, but this is not the case. Sleep is critical to level, attention, concentration, creativity, and decision-making, which is productivity.
- Attention and Concentration
Individuals who are deprived of sleep have difficulty focusing, paying attention and processing information. Even modest sleep loss impacts attention. - Memory and Learning
Information is processed and consolidated during sleep, especially REM sleep. Learning and memory consolidation are severely limited without sufficient sleep. - Problem-Solving and Creativity
The well-rested and alert brain is more capable of generating creative ideas and solving difficult problems. This is why often when someone gets a good night’s sleep, they “wake-up” with a solution to their previous problem. - Efficiency at Work
Lack of sleep results in slower reaction times, more mistakes and reduces efficiency at work or school. This can also be a dangerous impairment to one’s ability to be alert while driving or operating heavy machinery.
How Much Sleep Do You Really Need?
The amount of sleep truly required is based on your age, lifestyle and how healthy you are, but generally speaking you should get:
Adults (18-64): 7-9 hours
Teenagers (14-17): 8-10 hours
Children (6-13): 9-11 hours
Older adults (65+): 7-8 hours
Habitually sleeping less than recommended amount of sleep may actually be detrimental to mental health among young and middle-aged adults.