The Importance of Getting Enough Sleep

By John Teng

Getting enough sleep each night is important for the body’s cells to repair themselves, and give your mind rest too, yet insomnia seems to becoming a common problem today. There are many reasons why someone may not get a good night’s sleep. Fortunately, it’s simple enough to remedy most of these situations.

Getting enough sleep begins with allocating enough time each night to do so. Often people try to cram in an extra hour of chores, or they stay up too late reading or watching TV. Many people decide to get up a few hours earlier in the morning to head to the gym, or to write that novel they’ve always wanted to write. Unfortunately, getting less than the recommended eight hours of sleep each night can lead to stress and other health issues.

You must be firm and commit to the same lights off schedule each night of the week. Calculate what you need for your eight hours, and then set your morning wake up alarm accordingly. You may have trim down some of your other activities, but it’ll be worth it when you wake up feeling refreshed and relaxed each morning, instead of exhausted and half asleep.

Many people choose to buy a SAD lamp—Seasonal Affective Disorder—and one can certainly be a non-chemical way of providing your body with enough light during the day. The theory is that each day your eyes capture a certain amount of sunlight, which then is passed to the brain. This tells your brain when your body is ready to sleep. If you’re stuck indoors without any natural light for hours at a time, then you can begin to see how your brain won’t shut off at 11 pm. Your brain hasn’t acknowledged that your body received its fair share of light. This is how the blue lighted SAD lamps can help out people who live in the Pacific Northwest, or other parts of the world where lack of sunlight can wreck havoc with sleeping patterns.

Modern technology can also wreck havoc with our sleep. Looking at flickering computer, tablet, and smart phones screens well into the evening can make our brains confused, and not want to shut down. Ideally, the tech should be put away at 5 pm. This gives plenty of time for rest, before the night’s big sleep.

There are many things that can happen to people who have sleep deprivation over a long period of time. People who try to compensate for a lack of sleep may drink too much coffee. This can lead to a higher incidence of stroke. Lack of sleep may cause drowsiness during the day, which can be dangerous for those who rely on driving or the operation of machinery. Lack of sleep may not give the body enough time to heal injuries, or to rejuvenate old cells.

The importance of getting enough sleep can’t be stressed enough. If you’re finding that you’re having difficulties, start by making a few changes each day until you find what works for you.