Remind yourself why sleep is so important this World Sleep Day

Friday 18^th March marks this year’s World Sleep Day – a time for all of us to prioritise good rest

With both World Sleep Day, Sleep Awareness Week and National Bed Month all falling in March, there’s never been a better time to remind ourselves just how important good sleep is for our health, wellbeing and overall quality of life. Let’s take a look.

Sleep and concentration

A good night’s rest is essential for healthy brain function, and that includes our concentration and memory. Even one poor night’s sleep can impact your ability to retain information the next day, and focus on the task at hand, and numerous studies have concluded that sleep quality is directly linked to your concentration, productivity and overall cognition.

One 2015 study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry found that a child’s sleep pattern can have a noticeable impact on both their academic performance and their behaviour.

Sleep and weight management

While the jury is still out on whether poor sleep is a direct cause of weight gain, it’s certain that a lack of sleep makes us more likely to indulge in the behaviours which make poor health more likely. These include not exercising and eating unhealthy foods. Other studies have gone so far as to suggest that poor sleep can impact the speed and strength of your metabolism, while one study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America concluded that sleep patterns impact the release of hormones responsible for appetite.

Sleep and fitness

While the National Sleep Foundation recommends between seven and nine hours of sleep per night for adults, many athletes aim for as much as 10 hours’ sleep. Rest is just as important as nutrition when it comes to recovery and recuperation in exercise, and prioritising sleep can lead to more energy, better coordination, faster speed and a better overall performance overtime.

Sleep and disease

Not only is good sleep beneficial to our daily mindset and health, but it also aids us in staving off long term health conditions like heart disease. Both the British Heart Foundation and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention recognise that getting adequate sleep each night is essential for allowing our blood pressure to regulate itself. This can effectively reduce your risk of developing high blood pressure, heart disease and even type 2 diabetes. What’s more, sleep is essential for reducing inflammation in the body, lowering your risk of inflammatory bowel diseases.

Sleep and mental health

It’s not just our physical health which benefits from good sleep. Countless studies and organisations have recognised the importance of sleep when it comes to protecting our mental health, with a lack of sleep being closely associated with conditions like depression and anxiety.

One study in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry found that sleep disorders such as insomnia can increase the likelihood of depression, while a study in JAMA Psychiatry found sleeplessness to be a contributing factor in patterns of death by suicide over 10 years.

By prioritising greater sleep quality as part of your usual routine, you can make positive changes to your health and wellbeing both in the short and long term. Deliberate lifestyle changes can help you make sleep a priority this spring.

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