From reducing anxiety to mental clarity: the lesser-known facts of a good night’s sleep

When we emerge from under our duvets in the morning, we aim to start the day refreshed, well-rested and without the itchy, tired eyes that mark a night of tossing and turning.  Often, there is no need to use a sleep tracker or a smartwatch to check if we’ve had enough sleep; there are physical symptoms we all recognise that indicate whether we feel full of energy or under the weather.

The amount of sleep we each require is hugely changeable based on our level of physical or mental activity during the day; our age; and our regular routine. But how we deal with a lack of sleep can be very similar.  Aside from yawning and irritability, just what are those lesser-known facts about why a good night’s sleep is so essential to daily functions?

Reducing Anxiety

Reducing anxiety is actually one of the major benefits of getting enough sleep.  Mental health can be hugely impacted by a lack of quality sleep and an increase in anxious thoughts is a key area of consideration.  Whilst a lack of sleep has the ability to increase low mood and anxious thoughts, the benefits of good sleep can be just as powerful. Getting adequate rest and recovery has been shown to boost mood and energy levels, support good cognitive function and help to balance hormones that handle stress in the body.

Hunger / Weight Loss

There are two ways to look at the way tiredness or a lack of consistently good quality sleep can impact on your appetite and, as a result, weight. 

It goes without saying that when we’re tired, we tend to feel hungry. Fluctuations in appetite is an area where a lack of sleep can affect how we are able to manage our own response to being hungry.  When we are more tired, our bodies release higher levels of the hormone Grehlin. 

Grehlin is actually known as the ‘hunger hormone’ and is a way of telling the body we need food.  We can feel hungry even if we don’t actually need any food.  So, when you are reaching for sugar at 11am or 3pm, it’s because your tired body is looking for a quick energy fix to fight the slump.   

Of course, when we’re tired, and feeling that extra pang of hunger, our mental capacity to resist the urge to eat can be heavily impacted by our lack of sleep.  The low mood and lowered cognitive function that comes with a terrible night of rest can make it even harder to resist those sugary snacks for more effective weight management.

Physical Appearance  

It’s one of the oldest cliches going.  Before an important day it’s imperative to ‘get some beauty sleep’, but is this an old wives’ tale with some truth to it?  Absolutely, yes! 

One of the main functions of sleep on the human body is to rest and repair.  Seven to nine hours of quality sleep a night can have a hugely beneficial effect on your physical appearance, with a particular impact on your skin and hair.  Collagen production is boosted when you sleep as part of that skin repair process so you can indeed sleep your way to a more youthful appearance. 

Sleep deprivation can also deprive your skin of blood flow so that slightly lifeless or ashen look the day after a bad night’s sleep can be directly attributed to this. 

Who hasn’t added a cold compress to puffy eyes to try and reduce the redness after a restless night?  Turns out a lack of blood flow during sleep periods can also be responsible to swelling and dark under eye circles. 

The best sleep happens on a high-quality mattress, so check out the Perks range now. You can also explore the rest of our blog for more sleep news and tips.