The Importance of Sleep

             today we're going to talk about the

importance of sleeping and the 10

scientific health benefits of sleep

we're also going to finish with some

proven sleeping tips that will ensure

you get a full night's rest and make

sure you get the right amount before

that let's talk about the health

benefits of sleep number one not getting

enough sleep is linked to fat did you

know that lack of sleep is one of the

largest risk factors in obesity and a

short study on sleep duration

researchers found that adults not

getting enough sleep were 55 percent

more likely to be obese worse than that

children were actually 89% more likely

to be obese when not getting enough

sleep lack of sleeps association with

fat accumulation seems to be for a

number of factors many of which are

listed below

number two getting the right amount of

sleep improves your hormones cortisol

your stress hormone is lowered with the

right amount of sleep elevated levels of

this hormone over time is associated

with poor skin quality obesity and a

long list of other issues better sleep

has also been shown to improve insulin

sensitivity and raise testosterone

levels which will give you more natural

energy number three good sleep improves

the immune system another health benefit

of sleep is helping you fight off being

sick in a recent study people who slept

less than seven hours a night are three

times more likely to develop a cold than

those sleeping over eight hours or more

number four

sleeping helps improve learning in a

swiss university study two groups were

introduced to a new language one group

right before bed and one during the

daytime the ones who slept immediately

after learning new material learned the

language quicker than those in the

daytime so studying before bed seems to

be a good idea

number five good sleep lowers the risk

of developing depression in a study of

twins researchers found that bad sleep

increased the genetic risk of developing

depression in fact it has been estimated

that 90% of patients with depression

also suffer from some form of sleep

apnea number six people get more sleep

naturally eat less when you don't get

enough sleep the fluctuations of

hormones cause greater cravings and

worse appetite control so if you're

someone who's trying to lose weight but

just can't stay away from the late-night

snacks getting in more sleep is

something that can probably help number

seven sleep helps us empathize with

others another strange health benefit of

sleep is a better understanding of

social cues one study found that those

who are sleep deprived

lose the ability to properly recognize

expressions of anger and happiness in

the faces of others number eight sleep

improves athletic performance in a study

of basketball players a better night's

rest improve the players reaction times

speed and accuracy now that we discuss

the health benefits of sleep let's talk

about how to get a better night's rest

here are the five sleeping tips everyone

needs to know sleeping tip number one

use blackout curtains and duct tape to

black out your room melatonin also known

as the sleep hormone is raised when the

Sun goes down to indicate to our bodies

that it's time to rest the problem is

that street lights outlets and all sorts

of other unnatural lights confuse this

hormone and trick it into thinking it's

still daytime

do a complete blackout of your room and

you will notice a big difference in both

the quality of the sleep you get and the

ability to get to sleep also computer

screens and phone screens confuse

melatonin as well

there are nighttime modes on these

devices but it's always best just not to

use them one hour before bedtime

sleeping tip number two have a routine

humans are habitual creatures and

creating a systematic routine will

improve sleep something as simple as

brushing your teeth reading a book for

15 minutes and immediately going to bed

is a habit you can build to make your

sleep almost automatic at night sleeping

tip number 3 use your bed for nothing

but sleep and the occasional physical

activity goes with the habit thing but

the moment you hit the bed you want the

body to recognize that it's time to fall

asleep so try not to work on your bed or

spend any time on it when you're not

resting sleeping tip number four use a

pillow between our underneath your legs

this will help to maintain the alignment

of your back and improve your posture

over time it will also help those of you

suffering with lower back pain there's

no perfect way to sleep but on your back

is probably best as it helps maintain

the alignment of your neck and spine

sleeping tip number five napping is

great a short 20 to 30 minute nap lowers

cortisol levels and is very healthy for

the body so bring back a little bit of

your childhood and do a quick catnap if

feeling tired midday our last point is

that the right amount of time for

optimal sleep benefits is seven to nine

hours per night no less than seven and

no more than nine seems to be the

perfect amount