The Importance of Sleep, and the Effects on the body when we don’t get enough

Sleep is an important reset process of your body and it consolidates memory, regulates mood, and balances hormone production. For busy individuals, sleep restores concentration and creativity. It’s all about restoring and resetting your mind. With the proper amount of sleep, you will also notice improved productivity and energy levels. 

A good night’s sleep can also alleviate anxiety and stress and a combination of poor sleep and high stress levels can create a cycle that’s difficult to break. If you maintain good sleep quality, your risk of depression and anxiety can be minimised.

With that in mind, we are going to take a look at some of the effects on your body when you don’t get enough sleep:

Cardiovascular System

Based on research, people who are consistently deprived of proper sleep have higher risks of stroke and heart attack. Poor sleep also increases inflammation, blood sugar, and blood pressure levels, which are risk factors of cardiovascular problems. This means that poor sleep quality can make it harder to repair and heal heart and blood vessels.

Endocrine System

If you wake up throughout the night, your hormone production will be affected. You need at least three straight hours of sleep for testosterone production. Children and adolescents with poor sleep habits may have less optimum growth. If this happens for years, there could be permanent effects on the growth process. Physical exercise and adequate sleep are necessary to allow the pituitary gland to produce growth hormones.

Immune System

If you don’t get enough sleep, your body is deprived of important immune substances like cytokines and antibodies. In short, your body won’t be well prepared to combat microorganisms. During the current coronavirus pandemic, a good immune system ensures much milder reactions and faster recovery if you do get COVID-19. Long-term sleep deprivation may make you vulnerable to more serious symptoms of various infectious diseases.

Respiratory System

For people with existing respiratory problems, like chronic lung illness, sleep deprivation may make their problem worse. A weakened immune system may also make the respiratory system more vulnerable to flu and common cold. If you have obstructive sleep apnoea, it should be treated immediately, because it may lower sleep quality and interrupt sleep.

Digestive System

People could become overweight or obese more easily if they don’t get enough sleep. Poor sleep affects the production of ghrelin and leptin, which regulate the feelings of fullness and hunger. Ghrelin stimulates your appetite, while leptin tells you when it’s time to stop eating. If you didn’t sleep well last night, you will be less motivated to exercise, making it harder to build muscles mass and burn enough calories.

Contact Pilates Philosophy

To learn more about the importance of a good night’s sleep, contact Pilates Philosophy and sign up for a Pilates class today.

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