Reasons Why You Should Care About How Much Sleep You Get

Tired of dragging yourself out of bed, feeling sluggish after lunch, or fighting to get through the workday because you're exhausted? Do you find yourself reaching for another cup of coffee, a can of soda, or an energy drink to get you through the day? Chances are, you are shaking your head yes to one of these situations, if not more than one. 

It’s probably a safe bet (since you’re reading this) you’re one of 1 in 3 American adults that don’t get enough sleep and need to improve their habits. After all, one of the most important things you can do to help you become your best self is to get adequate rest!

Developing and sticking to a healthy sleep routine has major mental, physical, and psychological benefits.

“Just like our electronics need to be charged, sleep may recharge or reset the brain to optimize functioning” 

Elizabeth Blake Zakarin

This article will help you understand the key benefits of getting sufficient rest, the effect(s) it has on your body, what happens when you don’t get enough sleep, and what you can do about it.

Tired of dragging yourself out of bed, feeling sluggish after lunch, or fighting to get through the workday because you're exhausted? Do you find yourself reaching for another cup of coffee, a can of soda, or an energy drink to get you through the day? Chances are, you are shaking your head yes to one of these situations, if not more than one. 

It’s probably a safe bet (since you’re reading this) you’re one of 1 in 3 American adults that don’t get enough sleep and need to improve their habits. After all, one of the most important things you can do to help you become your best self is to get adequate rest!

Developing and sticking to a healthy sleep routine has major mental, physical, and psychological benefits.

“Just like our electronics need to be charged, sleep may recharge or reset the brain to optimize functioning” 

Elizabeth Blake Zakarin

This article will help you understand the key benefits of getting sufficient rest, the effect(s) it has on your body, what happens when you don’t get enough sleep, and what you can do about it.

How Much Sleep is Enough?

The number of hours of sleep a person need decreases with age. While each person's body is different and requires different things, the National Institute of Health suggests that persons aged 18 to 64 receive seven to nine hours of sleep per night.

I bet you’re asking, “why is 7-9 hours the sweet spot?”

Seven to nine hours gives your body enough time to progress through five or six sleep cycles between REM (rapid eye movement) and NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep. These cycles are critical for repairing and protecting your brain, stimulating brain areas essential to learning, and allowing your immune system to reset. 

REM sleep also helps you process emotions, sort through and consolidate new information, regulate moods, and ensure better mental concentration. 

To go along with that, too little REM sleep has serious side effects beyond feeling tired. When you don’t get enough rest, you may experience a weakened immune system, increased sensitivity to pain, impairments in automatic tasks, and healthy cellular growth may slow or halt. 

Mental and Physical Benefits of Getting Enough Sleep

A full night’s sleep does more than give you energy. While resting, your body works to repair physical and mental ailments. You’ll have a clearer mind and healthier body when you get enough sleep. Instead of depleting your limited energy to get through daily tasks, you’ll be able to get through the day easily and have extra energy to spend on what really matters.  

Here are some of the most important physical and mental benefits of getting enough sleep. 

Decreases the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

Multiple studies and systematic reviews have highlighted the detrimental repercussions of inconsistent and interrupted sleep cycles — including short sleep duration and chronic insomnia — on the cardiovascular system.

A study from the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology has shown that individuals who consistently slept fewer than six hours per night were more susceptible to coronary artery diseases compared to those who benefited from seven to eight hours of nightly rest.

At the cellular and systemic levels, compromised sleep instigates a series of physiological anomalies that gravely threaten cardiovascular integrity.

An insufficiency in sleep is potently correlated with a surge in inflammatory markers, notably C-reactive protein and interleukin-6. These markers are renowned indicators of vascular inflammation, precursors to atherogenesis, and potential harbingers of more grave cardiac events.

Beyond inflammation, erratic sleep patterns induce an overdrive in the sympathetic nervous system. This hyperactivity precipitates elevated blood pressure and an increased heart rate, taxing the cardiovascular system disproportionately.

In tandem with these changes, poor sleep also interferes with optimal glucose metabolism and augments oxidative stress, conditions that lay the groundwork for endothelial dysfunction and increased rigidity of arterial walls.

Repairs the Brain

Many things, such as a stroke, infection, or blunt-force trauma, cause free radicals within your body. These reactive components damage neurons and other brain cells, inhibiting the transmission of signals to and from the brain. Over time this may increase your chance of future mental illness. 

While resting, your brain works hard to heal. During the various stages of deep sleep—primary REM and NREM stage 3—an essential process occurs where enzymes repair the damaged neurons. 

If you shortchange yourself and don’t sleep long enough, your body doesn’t go through the necessary sleep cycles of rest and repair. The neurons cannot fully complete the recovery process and prepare for a new day.

Research emanating from esteemed institutions has demonstrated that during deep sleep phases, the glymphatic system of the brain becomes particularly active, facilitating the clearance of neurotoxic waste products, including beta-amyloid and tau proteins, which are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease.

Chronic sleep deprivation or disruptions can lead to the accumulation of these proteins, thereby amplifying the risk of cognitive decline and the eventual onset of dementia

Sleep deprivation als inhibits the body's natural ability to repair damaged neurons in the brain. As a result, you’ll often experience brain fog, delusional thoughts, and slurred speech as the neurons aren’t firing and transmitting signals correctly.

Elevates Mental Health 

The correlation between sleep and mental health has been discussed for quite some time. Experts agree getting plenty of rest can help your mind stay healthy and happy. 

Conversely, sleep loss often increases the risk of depression, anxiety, and other mental ailments. Insomnia and the lack of a regular sleep schedule can also hinder emotional stability. When you aren’t well-rested, it’s harder to regulate powerful feelings like anger, frustration, or sadness.

More research is needed to explain and understand the mechanisms linking sufficient sleep and mental health, but scientists know sleep is vital to regulating behavior and emotions. Getting uninterrupted rest each night keeps your mind sharp and can prevent emotional and mental distress, making it an essential aspect of your daily routine. 

Solidifies Memories

Throughout life, you easily remember specific moments—birthday celebrations, goal achievements, and other special events seem easy to recall after the fact. But things like learning to play a song on the guitar or how many cups of flour go in chocolate chip cookies are more challenging to remember. 

Luckily, research shows that getting enough sleep helps improve memory retention. As you go about your day, you fill your mind with new memories, organizing and filing them in short-term storage. Later, when your body goes through multiple REM cycles, these experiences are transferred to your brain’s temporal lobe and become-long term memories. 

Your body must go through multiple REM cycles before waking to keep these memories strong and accurate so you can look back on them over time. Not getting enough sleep has the opposite effect, making recalling new moments, processes, or information challenging.

Boosts Learning Capabilities 

Just as sleep is important for retaining memories, it’s also crucial for learning. Comprehending and storing new information takes a lot of brain power, making it necessary to get enough rest, so your brain is working at its full capability. 

The hippocampus is responsible for creating new memories in your brain; because of this, it is often associated with the learning process. After all, learning is simply making memories and recalling the information when needed.

Experts have found that sufficient rest and the corresponding REM cycles during the night help prepare the brain to absorb new information. Adequate sleep following the learning event ensures information is moved from short-term storage in the hippocampus to long-term storage areas. Thus, freeing up space for new ideas.

Being sufficiently rested also improves your attention span and helps improve your critical thinking and problem-solving skills, increasing the amount of information retained.

With a fresh and rejuvenated brain, you can efficiently take in and retain a greater amount of new information. 

Regulates Caloric Intake 

Experts believe that sleep habits may also be linked to weight gain and loss because of their relationships with calorie intake and hunger hormones. So much so that those who get seven or more hours of uninterrupted rest at night have a lower BMI (Body Mass Index). 

When you are awake, your body focuses on fueling itself so it has energy for things like movement, metabolic processes, and cognitive tasks. While your body is in a state of rest, it’s focused on repairing the brain and muscles instead of taking in more calories. Going to bed an hour earlier each night can decrease calorie consumption, leading to a lower daily intake.

Research also shows sleep deprivation affects ghrelin and leptin levels—hormones that control appetite and the feeling of fullness. 

• Ghrelin increases your appetite and calorie intake; it rises when you don’t get enough sleep, making you want to eat more. 
• Leptin is secreted by adipose tissue (body fat) and regulates your hunger by making you feel full; it decreases during sleep deprivation, making you feel unsatiated and hungry. 

Getting adequate sleep may be worthwhile for anyone looking to regulate their weight.

Lowers Inflammation

Like neuron repair, the body’s muscular system also recovers while you sleep. A full night of rest ensures you hit the needed deep sleep cycles to properly heal sore muscles and tendons and decrease inflammation. 

As you fall into a deep sleep, your body releases growth hormones and makes amino acids to synthesize proteins. When you are in a deep sleep cycle, your body also has increased blood flow. This increased blood flow brings oxygen, nutrients, and newly formed proteins to your muscles, helping to repair damaged tissues. 

Research shows that women commonly see a higher decrease in inflammation with seven or more hours of sleep. This further supports that an appropriate amount of rest allows the body to heal and prepare for a new day.

Strengthens the Immune System 

The human body is constantly exposed to viruses, allergens, and bacteria, forcing its immune system into overdrive as it fights off these opponents. Without a healthy, robust immune system, you would be wracked with harmful bacteria and viruses, continuously battling infections and ailments. Thankfully, new research suggests resting can strengthen the immune system, increasing your chance of staying healthy. 

Getting proper rest at night enhances your immune system, similar to how your body repairs your brain and muscles. Increased blood flow during deep sleep cycles moves nutrients, oxygen, proteins, enzymes, and amino acids where needed, allowing blood cells and stress response pathways to repair and recover.

In turn, your immune system is strong, decreasing the chance of catching a cold or getting a pesky sinus infection. 

It’s also believed that there is a link between persistent sleep deprivation and chronic illnesses that potentially lead to serious health issues. Yet another reason you should be making a full night’s rest an essential part of your daily schedule! 

How Can You Improve Your Sleep?

If you struggle to get enough sleep, don’t fret. You can improve your sleep! Over time if you can implement most or all of these practices, you should see a positive change in your sleep patterns and overall health. 

• Following a consistent sleep schedule is a great way to improve your nightly rest. Go to sleep around the same time each night and wake up around the same time each morning, even on the weekends or on your days off of work.

• Maintain good sleep hygiene: avoid screens before bed; keep the room at a cool temperature; avoid large meals, alcohol, or intense exercise a few hours before bedtime; make sure the bedroom is comfortable, quiet, and dark. 

• Meditate, stretch, or practice mindfulness exercises to manage stress and wind down. For some people, journaling or “brain dump” may be helpful to free up your brain and reduce anxiety. 

• Don’t fight sleep. It’s best to allow yourself to go to bed when you’re tired, if possible, and don’t lay in bed tossing and turning if you’re not. Listening to your body helps you get the most out of the nightly recovery processes, leaving you rejuvenated and ready to take on a new day.

Sometimes, though, it’s not feasible to get enough sleep. But you should try to avoid consecutive nights of interrupted rest. Too many nights in a row may lead to sleep deprivation, slow reaction times, and lowered cognitive abilities. 

The best thing is to get yourself back on a good sleep regimen quickly so you’re on top of your game!

How Much Sleep is Enough?

The number of hours of sleep a person need decreases with age. While each person's body is different and requires different things, the National Institute of Health suggests that persons aged 18 to 64 receive seven to nine hours of sleep per night.

I bet you’re asking, “why is 7-9 hours the sweet spot?”

Seven to nine hours gives your body enough time to progress through five or six sleep cycles between REM (rapid eye movement) and NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep. These cycles are critical for repairing and protecting your brain, stimulating brain areas essential to learning, and allowing your immune system to reset. 

REM sleep also helps you process emotions, sort through and consolidate new information, regulate moods, and ensure better mental concentration. 

To go along with that, too little REM sleep has serious side effects beyond feeling tired. When you don’t get enough rest, you may experience a weakened immune system, increased sensitivity to pain, impairments in automatic tasks, and healthy cellular growth may slow or halt. 

Mental and Physical Benefits of Getting Enough Sleep

A full night’s sleep does more than give you energy. While resting, your body works to repair physical and mental ailments. You’ll have a clearer mind and healthier body when you get enough sleep. Instead of depleting your limited energy to get through daily tasks, you’ll be able to get through the day easily and have extra energy to spend on what really matters.  

Here are some of the most important physical and mental benefits of getting enough sleep. 

Decreases the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

Multiple studies and systematic reviews have highlighted the detrimental repercussions of inconsistent and interrupted sleep cycles — including short sleep duration and chronic insomnia — on the cardiovascular system.

A study from the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology has shown that individuals who consistently slept fewer than six hours per night were more susceptible to coronary artery diseases compared to those who benefited from seven to eight hours of nightly rest.

At the cellular and systemic levels, compromised sleep instigates a series of physiological anomalies that gravely threaten cardiovascular integrity.

An insufficiency in sleep is potently correlated with a surge in inflammatory markers, notably C-reactive protein and interleukin-6. These markers are renowned indicators of vascular inflammation, precursors to atherogenesis, and potential harbingers of more grave cardiac events.

Beyond inflammation, erratic sleep patterns induce an overdrive in the sympathetic nervous system. This hyperactivity precipitates elevated blood pressure and an increased heart rate, taxing the cardiovascular system disproportionately.

In tandem with these changes, poor sleep also interferes with optimal glucose metabolism and augments oxidative stress, conditions that lay the groundwork for endothelial dysfunction and increased rigidity of arterial walls.

Repairs the Brain

Many things, such as a stroke, infection, or blunt-force trauma, cause free radicals within your body. These reactive components damage neurons and other brain cells, inhibiting the transmission of signals to and from the brain. Over time this may increase your chance of future mental illness. 

While resting, your brain works hard to heal. During the various stages of deep sleep—primary REM and NREM stage 3—an essential process occurs where enzymes repair the damaged neurons. 

If you shortchange yourself and don’t sleep long enough, your body doesn’t go through the necessary sleep cycles of rest and repair. The neurons cannot fully complete the recovery process and prepare for a new day.

Research emanating from esteemed institutions has demonstrated that during deep sleep phases, the glymphatic system of the brain becomes particularly active, facilitating the clearance of neurotoxic waste products, including beta-amyloid and tau proteins, which are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease.

Chronic sleep deprivation or disruptions can lead to the accumulation of these proteins, thereby amplifying the risk of cognitive decline and the eventual onset of dementia

Sleep deprivation als inhibits the body's natural ability to repair damaged neurons in the brain. As a result, you’ll often experience brain fog, delusional thoughts, and slurred speech as the neurons aren’t firing and transmitting signals correctly.

Elevates Mental Health 

The correlation between sleep and mental health has been discussed for quite some time. Experts agree getting plenty of rest can help your mind stay healthy and happy. 

Conversely, sleep loss often increases the risk of depression, anxiety, and other mental ailments. Insomnia and the lack of a regular sleep schedule can also hinder emotional stability. When you aren’t well-rested, it’s harder to regulate powerful feelings like anger, frustration, or sadness.

More research is needed to explain and understand the mechanisms linking sufficient sleep and mental health, but scientists know sleep is vital to regulating behavior and emotions. Getting uninterrupted rest each night keeps your mind sharp and can prevent emotional and mental distress, making it an essential aspect of your daily routine. 

Solidifies Memories

Throughout life, you easily remember specific moments—birthday celebrations, goal achievements, and other special events seem easy to recall after the fact. But things like learning to play a song on the guitar or how many cups of flour go in chocolate chip cookies are more challenging to remember. 

Luckily, research shows that getting enough sleep helps improve memory retention. As you go about your day, you fill your mind with new memories, organizing and filing them in short-term storage. Later, when your body goes through multiple REM cycles, these experiences are transferred to your brain’s temporal lobe and become-long term memories. 

Your body must go through multiple REM cycles before waking to keep these memories strong and accurate so you can look back on them over time. Not getting enough sleep has the opposite effect, making recalling new moments, processes, or information challenging.

Boosts Learning Capabilities 

Just as sleep is important for retaining memories, it’s also crucial for learning. Comprehending and storing new information takes a lot of brain power, making it necessary to get enough rest, so your brain is working at its full capability. 

The hippocampus is responsible for creating new memories in your brain; because of this, it is often associated with the learning process. After all, learning is simply making memories and recalling the information when needed.

Experts have found that sufficient rest and the corresponding REM cycles during the night help prepare the brain to absorb new information. Adequate sleep following the learning event ensures information is moved from short-term storage in the hippocampus to long-term storage areas. Thus, freeing up space for new ideas.

Being sufficiently rested also improves your attention span and helps improve your critical thinking and problem-solving skills, increasing the amount of information retained.

With a fresh and rejuvenated brain, you can efficiently take in and retain a greater amount of new information. 

Regulates Caloric Intake 

Experts believe that sleep habits may also be linked to weight gain and loss because of their relationships with calorie intake and hunger hormones. So much so that those who get seven or more hours of uninterrupted rest at night have a lower BMI (Body Mass Index). 

When you are awake, your body focuses on fueling itself so it has energy for things like movement, metabolic processes, and cognitive tasks. While your body is in a state of rest, it’s focused on repairing the brain and muscles instead of taking in more calories. Going to bed an hour earlier each night can decrease calorie consumption, leading to a lower daily intake.

Research also shows sleep deprivation affects ghrelin and leptin levels—hormones that control appetite and the feeling of fullness. 

• Ghrelin increases your appetite and calorie intake; it rises when you don’t get enough sleep, making you want to eat more. 
• Leptin is secreted by adipose tissue (body fat) and regulates your hunger by making you feel full; it decreases during sleep deprivation, making you feel unsatiated and hungry. 

Getting adequate sleep may be worthwhile for anyone looking to regulate their weight.

Lowers Inflammation

Like neuron repair, the body’s muscular system also recovers while you sleep. A full night of rest ensures you hit the needed deep sleep cycles to properly heal sore muscles and tendons and decrease inflammation. 

As you fall into a deep sleep, your body releases growth hormones and makes amino acids to synthesize proteins. When you are in a deep sleep cycle, your body also has increased blood flow. This increased blood flow brings oxygen, nutrients, and newly formed proteins to your muscles, helping to repair damaged tissues. 

Research shows that women commonly see a higher decrease in inflammation with seven or more hours of sleep. This further supports that an appropriate amount of rest allows the body to heal and prepare for a new day.

Strengthens the Immune System 

The human body is constantly exposed to viruses, allergens, and bacteria, forcing its immune system into overdrive as it fights off these opponents. Without a healthy, robust immune system, you would be wracked with harmful bacteria and viruses, continuously battling infections and ailments. Thankfully, new research suggests resting can strengthen the immune system, increasing your chance of staying healthy. 

Getting proper rest at night enhances your immune system, similar to how your body repairs your brain and muscles. Increased blood flow during deep sleep cycles moves nutrients, oxygen, proteins, enzymes, and amino acids where needed, allowing blood cells and stress response pathways to repair and recover.

In turn, your immune system is strong, decreasing the chance of catching a cold or getting a pesky sinus infection. 

It’s also believed that there is a link between persistent sleep deprivation and chronic illnesses that potentially lead to serious health issues. Yet another reason you should be making a full night’s rest an essential part of your daily schedule! 

How Can You Improve Your Sleep?

If you struggle to get enough sleep, don’t fret. You can improve your sleep! Over time if you can implement most or all of these practices, you should see a positive change in your sleep patterns and overall health. 

• Following a consistent sleep schedule is a great way to improve your nightly rest. Go to sleep around the same time each night and wake up around the same time each morning, even on the weekends or on your days off of work.

• Maintain good sleep hygiene: avoid screens before bed; keep the room at a cool temperature; avoid large meals, alcohol, or intense exercise a few hours before bedtime; make sure the bedroom is comfortable, quiet, and dark. 

• Meditate, stretch, or practice mindfulness exercises to manage stress and wind down. For some people, journaling or “brain dump” may be helpful to free up your brain and reduce anxiety. 

• Don’t fight sleep. It’s best to allow yourself to go to bed when you’re tired, if possible, and don’t lay in bed tossing and turning if you’re not. Listening to your body helps you get the most out of the nightly recovery processes, leaving you rejuvenated and ready to take on a new day.

Sometimes, though, it’s not feasible to get enough sleep. But you should try to avoid consecutive nights of interrupted rest. Too many nights in a row may lead to sleep deprivation, slow reaction times, and lowered cognitive abilities. 

The best thing is to get yourself back on a good sleep regimen quickly so you’re on top of your game!