Benefits of a good night’s sleep

By Bob Otieno

What difference could an extra hour of sleep make in your life?

A lot, experts say. Studies show that the gap between getting just enough sleep and too little may affect your health, mood, weight and sex life.

If you’re getting less than the recommended seven or eight hours, here are some reasons you should shut down your computer, turn off the lights, and go to bed an hour early tonight.

Clearer thinking.

Have you ever woken up after a bad night’s sleep, feeling fuzzy and confused, like your brain can’t get out of first gear?

The culprit is lack of sleep. Sleep loss impairs your cognition, attention and your decision-making capacity. Studies have found that people who are sleep-deprived are worse at solving logic or math problems than when they’re well rested. They’re also more likely to make silly mistakes.

Better weight control.

Getting enough sleep could help you maintain your weight and lack of it contributes to weight gain. Why? Part of the problem is behavioural.

If you’re overtired, you might be less likely to have the energy to go for that jog or cook a healthy dinner after work.

The other reason is physiological. The hormone leptin plays a key role in making you feel full. When you don’t get enough sleep, leptin levels drop. Result: People who are tired feel hungrier and seem to crave high-fat and high-calorie foods.

Less pain.

If you have chronic or acute pain from a recent injury, getting enough sleep may reduce the pain. ?Many studies have shown a link between sleep loss and increased chances of lower pain.

Unfortunately, being in pain can make it hard to sleep. If pain is keeping you up at night, there are medications available that combine a pain reliever with a sleep aid.

Better mood.

Getting enough sleep won’t guarantee a sunny disposition. But you have probably noticed that when you’re exhausted, you’re more likely to be cranky. That’s not all.

Not getting enough sleep affects your emotional regulation. When you’re tired, you’re more likely to snap at your boss or start laughing uncontrollably.

Better memory.

Feeling forgetful? Sleep loss could be to blame. Studies have shown that while we sleep, our brains process and consolidate our memories from the day.

If you don’t get enough sleep, it seems like those memories might not get stored correctly and can be lost.

Better sex life.

Research shows that up to 26 per cent of people say that their sex lives tend to suffer because they’re just too tired. There’s evidence that in men, impaired sleep can be associated with lower testosterone levels, although this link isn’t clear.

Stronger immunity.

Could getting enough sleep prevent the common cold? One preliminary study put the idea to the test. People who got seven hours of sleep a night or less were almost three times as likely to get sick as the people who got at least eight hours of sleep a night.

More research is needed to establish a real link. Still, you can’t go wrong getting eight hours of sleep when possible.