Benefits of a Good Night's Sleep

As well as a balanced diet and regular exercise, getting enough sleep is important for your health - both mental and physical. This doesn’t mean grabbing a few hours here and there. A regular sleeping pattern of 6 to 8 ½ hours per night enables your body to function and, ironically, keeps you more alert during the day. Encourages memory development- Learning a new skill or studying for an exam? Sleep allows your brain to recap and retain what it has learned- so burning the candle at both ends doesn’t help you!

Improves performance

Think of completing challenging tasks at work or sitting an important exam as mental exercise for your brain. Getting enough sleep will put you on top form, ensuring you’ll perform to the best of your ability.


Prevents information overload

Your brain has a lot to take in as you constantly read, watch, think and fill it with all kinds of information every day. A prolonged period of rest gives your brain chance to process all this information and get rid of what it doesn’t need.


Boosts physical health

A regular sleeping pattern is good for your mind and body. Sleep strengthens your immune system, reducing risk of strokes, diabetes, arthritis and heart disease.


Maintains a healthy weight

A healthy diet and exercise plan needs to be backed up by lots of restful sleep otherwise all your hard work could be counterproductive. When you’re body craves sleep, it triggers appetite- inducing hormones in your blood that make you want to eat more than you need.


Gets your creative juice flowing

Your brain is constantly in control of your thoughts and bodily functions during the daytime. During sleep your brain uses the time to think up new ideas or reconnect thoughts it didn’t have chance to when you were awake.


Stabilises mood

A little rest and recuperation each night is beneficial to you- and the people around you! Inadequate sleep can result in mood swings and make you more likely to react negatively over something that may actually be quite trivial, so give yourself a break!


Reduces stress

Fighting tiredness puts unnecessary strain on your body, sends emotions haywire and brings on stress. Sleep calms you down, keeps you feeling in control and able to make rational decisions. When it comes to our health stress and sleep are nearly one and the same and both can affect cardiovascular health. Best if you get your head down for a few hours then!


Sharpens focus

A rested mind is a focused one. If you find yourself daydreaming or things don’t seem to hold your attention for very long, lack of sleep could be to blame.


Curb inflammation

Inflammation is linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, and premature aging. Research indicates that people who get less sleep six or fewer hours a night have higher blood levels of inflammatory proteins than those who get more. A 2010 study found that C-reactive protein, which is associated with heart attack risk, was higher in people who got six or fewer hours of sleep a night. Lower stress- When it comes to our health stress and sleep are nearly one and the same and both can affect cardiovascular health.