Adequate rest and sleep actually affects our health, weight, mood, and even our sex life.
As a child, you may have been upset and often objected to your parents telling you to take a nap. But as an adult, bedtime can actually be a precious and most awaited moment. And it turns out, sleep is not only able to eliminate drowsiness, but also very good for mental and physical health.
9 Benefits of Adequate Rest and Sleep
1. Healthier body
Rest and sleep play an important role in maintaining the health of our bodies. Lack of sleep is thought to increase the risk of kidney disease, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, increased stress hormones, and diabetes. Did you know that adequate rest and sleep can affect the body's reaction to insulin, the hormone that controls glucose or blood sugar levels? Lack of sleep makes our blood sugar levels higher than normal. As a result, we are more susceptible to diabetes.
2. Body growth
Rest and sleep also promote healthy growth and development of the body. Good sleep triggers the body to release hormones that support normal growth in children and adolescents. These hormones also help repair cells and tissues, and increase muscle mass in children, teens, and adults. In addition, rest and sleep also play a role in puberty and fertility.
3. Maintain weight
Did you know that lack of sleep can also increase the risk of obesity in teens and other age groups? Sleep affects the body in processing and storing carbohydrates. The trick is to maintain a balance of hormones that make us feel hungry (ghrelin) or full (leptin). If we lack sleep, the hormone ghrelin will rise while the hormone leptin will decrease. As a result, we will feel hungry. That's the reason why getting enough sleep can be a natural way to slim down.
4. Stay active during the day
Adequate and quality rest and sleep keeps us active throughout the day. Sleep deprivation of just an hour or two per night makes it seem as if our bodies haven't slept at all for a day or two. People who are sleep deprived tend to be less productive at school or work. They take longer to complete tasks, react more slowly, and make more mistakes.
5. Guaranteed sex life
According to a small percentage of participants who followed a poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, being too tired makes their sex life a mess. In fact, rest and sleep disorders are thought to be linked to decreased testosterone levels in men. Adequate rest and sleep can also be one way to thicken sperm.
6. Avoid accidents or injuries
According to a psychology professor, fatigue due to lack of rest and sleep increases our risk for various injuries, or household accidents. For example, being stabbed by a knife, falling from a ladder, vehicle accidents (either land, sea, or air). It can even cause tragic accidents on a larger scale such as nuclear reactor leaks, aviation accidents, work accidents, and so on.
7. Improve mood
Lack of rest and sleep can make us irritable, impatient, difficult to concentrate, moody, stressed, and depressed. Too little sleep can also make us too tired to do the things we want.
8. Strengthen the immune system
According to a study of 150 people, sleeping seven hours or less than seven hours a day is thought to make our bodies more susceptible to disease.
9. Sharpen memory
Lack of rest and sleep is thought to make us senile quickly. One study showed that during sleep, the hippocampus brain processes, strengthens, and combines our memories throughout the day. If you are sleep deprived, these memories cannot be stored properly in the brain and can be lost.
In order for the various benefits of rest and sleep above we can get the maximum, don't forget to sleep according to the recommended number of hours. For adults it is recommended to sleep 7-9 hours a day, adolescents 14-17 years 8-10 hours / day, children aged 6-13 years 9-11 hours / day, and toddlers aged 3-5 years 10-13 hours / day. day.
Also, allow a 2 year old to sleep 11-12 hours a night with an additional 1-2 hour nap, a 12 month old baby to sleep 10 hours a night with a 4 hour nap, and a newborn to sleep 14-17 hours a day.