How the Amount of Sleep You Get Affects Your Health & Beauty

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The amount of sleep a person needs varies, but most people require around 8 hours. Scientists do not really know why we need sleep, but one thing is obvious, and that is, after a good night’s sleep we feel a lot better. 

Studies have revealed that going without sleep causes forgetfulness, hallucinations and in general confusion. When we sleep there is a general decrease in our body temperature, breathing rate, blood pressure, and many other bodily functions.  

From personal experiences we all know that sleep is good for us. We all know the difference between being sleep deprived and well rested. But just how important does sleep mean to us? 

Watch the video below that explains that diet and exercise is not enough to stay healthy - we also need our sleep. An interview with the 'sleep doctor', Dr Breus, who explains why we need our sleep and tips to get better sleep.

Some in-depth research can show a lot more sleep benefits that you may or may not have valued so far.

• Sleep Deprivation Affects Your Mood and Concentration – We all know firsthand that lack of sleep makes us feel irritable, short-tempered and in general “stressed out”. Once recovering some of that sleep debt, your mood goes back to normal. So if you’re a moody person in general, just blame it on sleep!

•  Sleep Deprivation Makes You Fat – Do you recall when you were tossing and turning in bed when you couldn't sleep, so you ended up going to the kitchen and nibbling on the left over cake, or having that extra scoop of ice cream you tried so hard to avoid during the day? Well when sleep deprived, your body produces appetite-stimulating hormones which can lead to high calorie food cravings and overeating.

•  Look Healthy Be Healthy – Lack of sleep not only causes tiredness and drowsiness but makes you also appear less attractive and less healthy. A study in Sweden involved 23 college-aged people that were photographed on two separate occasions – once after getting a normal eight hours sleep, and once after being up for more than 30 hours, with only 5 hours sleep. Sixty-five separate observers were then asked to judge the photos of the individuals and to try and separate which candidates looked healthy and which ones looked tired and less attractive. The results as you can imagine were that the observers could easily identify the sleep deprived candidates for being less attractive and looking unhealthy.

• Avoid Those Wrinkles – When you do not get a good night’s sleep, the body produces excess cortisol which is a hormone that breaks down skin cells. With more sleep, you reduce the risk of wrinkles and help your skin remain thick and elastic.

• Do Not SLEEP and Drive – Pretty obvious but unfortunately not getting your regular night sleep has other implications other than looking less attractive. In the U.S. alone, it is recorded that there are over 100,000 car crashes per year, caused from people falling asleep while driving. From these incidents, over 1,500 are fatal.

• Obsessed with the Past – Lack of sleep as mentioned before, and as we all know, causes you to feel tired both physically and mentally. Tired people usually go through a state of “displaced aggression” which is a state where they will blame everything and everyone else apart from themselves, for things that happened in the past.  

At the end of a hard working day, one thing is for sure – you need your sleep. It is vital to give your body and mind the energy and time to restore itself so it is ready to be full alert and operational the following morning. If you cannot get your 8 hour straight sleep through the night, try taking a nap during mid-day, even if it is for half an hour.

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