- Leads to a longer life by helping to prevent a number of serious illnesses such as heart problems, some forms of cancer, high blood pressure and cholesterol, stroke, arthritis and diabetes—thereby increasing lifespan. (It’s especially important in heart health. Short sleepers have a 48% higher risk of getting coronary heart disease and a 15% greater risk of suffering a stroke.
- Improves memory. This ranks second for our market because memory problems, especially short-term memory loss, are major concerns of the aging. Sleep time allows you to make, stabilize, strengthen and store memories, and more easily access them later. Good sleep improves the working of the memory regions in the brain, allowing time for essential links to memory to form.
- Makes you smarter. Adequate sleep is critical to keeping the brain functioning well, over and above memory improvement. It increases mental productivity, allowing you to process new info and retain things you learned while awake. It helps with problem solving and decision making and generally helps with learning new things.
- Allows the body to repair and replenish the damages and stresses of daily life—from harmful exposures like ultraviolet rays to tissue and cell deterioration to everyday illness and strain. It’s a restorative that allows the body to “reset” as you sleep.
- Boosts immune system; “Sleep improves both the amount and effectiveness of all the cancer and virus fighting in our bodies.” With proper sleep, immune cells are able to identify and attack harmful bacteria and viruses and destroy them. Sufficient sleep helps the body fight back. Without it, we get more colds, flu and stay sick more often.
- Influences mood and social interactions. Emotions are processed while you sleep, playing a critical role in your perception of people and events. Without a good sleep, we tend to be crankier, angrier, less receptive to getting out and about, more depressed and more negative.
- Lessens fatigue. Being well rested helps you avoid careless injury, misjudgments, making too many mistakes, and taking too long on simple tasks. It also promotes stamina and helps with balance and mobility.
- Reduces stress and worry, which can actually result from sleeplessness as well as cause sleeplessness. Deep sleep can soothe concerns and give the body a chance to relax.
- Promotes safer driving and better judgment. A good sleep makes you more alert, helps you think clearly, and keeps you safer. You’ll have quicker reflexes and better focus, helping you to avoid accidents. Keeps you from dozing off during daily activities, like watching TV or waiting at traffic lights.
- Increases pain tolerance, Lack of sleep could make you feel more pain (and painkillers are also less effective in the sleep deprived).
