Just how important is sleep?

Sleep: it’s more important than you think

There’s not enough time in the day. I know I’m not the only one who has said this.

Our lives seem to get busier and busier, which seems to make us more and more tired, but yet, we don’t ever seem to focus on getting the sleep we need. We spend our lives so focused on work, family, money, and host of many other things that we don’t allow ourselves enough time for adequate sleep.

What we don’t realize about sleep, are all of the many benefits it provides our body. It provides us with more energy to be more focused at work, thus more productive.

I don’t know about you, but I usually tend to be happier when I get adequate sleep, which tends to make the work environment friendlier, and again, more productive.

What are other benefits that sleep can provide me?

If you are recovering from an injury:	If you suffer from chronic pain, you should get more sleep.	If you are an athlete, you should get more sleep.
– Our body heals itself during sleep.	– Decreased sleep leads to increased pain sensitivity. Thus, the less sleep we get, the more likely we are to hurt.	– Decreases risk of injury Athletes who slept less than 8 hours per night were 1.7x more likely to have an injury compared to athletes who slept for 8 hours or more
– Hormone levels balance out during sleep.		– Helps perform better in class and in sport
– Increased blood flow to healing tissues.