Good Night Sleep- Why do you need it?

Night times are the time when the sun fades, the moon comes out, and it’s time that you rest after an entire day. Night-time is when we are supposed to sleep and get rest. We surely hear about night owls as well who tend to work at nights mostly. But generally, people are expected to work in the day and get a good night’s sleep at night.

What is a good night sleep?

A good night’s sleep can simply be referred to as a peaceful and complete rest at night-time. It is estimated that a person should sleep at least 7-8 hours at night which can be thus counted as goodnight sleep. There is an absence of any disturbances or disruptions during good night sleep. A good night sleep can be the reason for an improved good life as well.

However, all people may not be able to sleep well at night due to various reasons and may lead to health hazards. There are also ways in which you may be able to foster a goodnight sleep which will be discussed below.

Causes of lack of Good night sleep

Sure, indeed a good night sleep is most required for one to have proper functioning of the entire body. Often you experience a lethargy creeping in yourself when you do not have a goodnight sleep. There may be several reasons as why you may not be able to sleep well at night. They may be consciously or unconsciously been associated with various factors such as:

1. Medical Factors: Often you may not know but certain medical conditions may be influencing your sleeping. The medical infirmities may be associated with you getting a bad goodnight sleep. These medical conditions are also referred to as sleep disorders that hamper your night sleep. Some common sleep disorders are:

• Sleep Apnoea
• Narcolepsy
• Restless Leg Syndrome
• Insomnia
• Circadian Rhythm Disorders

1. Environmental Factors: The surrounding that we are in during the time we go to sleep also matters a lot. If you are in a disturbing environment, it is obvious that your sleep at night will not be good. The night-time should be peaceful and calm so that you can have a good night sleep. Some of the factors that may disrupt your goodnight sleep are:

• Noises: The sound of dogs barking, street sounds, snoring may wake you up frequently at night. It may also matter if you are a light sleeper.
• Light: If a person sleeps in the light, it may be difficult to sleep properly. The light will be giving you some disturbances to not be able to rest comfortably.
• Temperature: The change in the temperature you are sleeping will also affect. If it is too hot or too cold you may not be able to adjust well to get a good night sleep. You may need a comfortable temperature suiting your body to rest and sleep well at night.

1. Mental Factors: The most common reason for the lack of good night sleep is also a mental status. People who are in stress or are worried are often not able to get a good night sleep. Overthinking may also be another reason for not being able to sleep well at night. Post-traumatic stress can also be a common cause that you cannot get a good night sleep and encounter nightmares keeping you awake at night. The biological pattern of your sleep once disrupted may also be a reason that you cannot get it to adjust to the new schedule causing a lack of goodnight sleep.

Risks of not having a good night sleep

You may think it’s alright to not have a good night sleep, or you just tend to be satisfied in small naps here and there. But there are certain risks associated with your body when you do not get a good night sleep. You may think it may not matter much but there are health risks that you must be aware of if you are not having good night sleeps at the proper time. Some risks that may arise are.

1. Mental Health Risks: These include a diverse range of mental infirmities that may be directly or indirectly impacting your normal life. You may not associate it with sleep, but you need to be aware of having a good night sleep if the following mental conditions are nagging you.

• Having hallucinations- seeing and hearing things that are not present
• Bipolar moods
• Impulsive behaviors
• Excess Anxiety
• Depressive thoughts
• Suicidal thoughts
• Paranoia
• Stress and Worries
• Procrastination
• Mental Fatigue

1. Physical Health risks: There may also be risks to your physical health if you do not properly get a good night sleep. There may be conditions and times when you suffer from disease as well. Some of the physical risks include

• Lower Immunity- the immune system may degrade and thus you may be vulnerable to common diseases such as the cold, flu when you do not have proper sleep. The body immunity lowers, and you may also not be able to recover sooner from illness.
• Chronic diseases- lack of good night sleep may be the reason to enhance the risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus and heart diseases. People who do not sleep well are likely to be the target of a heart stroke or heart attack.
• Respiratory Problems- The lack of a good night sleep may also trigger respiratory illness like cold and flu. Also, it may inflict vulnerability to chronic lung diseases.
• Digestive Problems: The irregular sleep patterns may be the reason to cause digestive problems like diarrhea and improper digestion. Also, it may be the reason to reduce insulin production causing obesity and diabetes. The lack of good night sleep may cause you to want to snack at night often which is a major cause of indigestion.
• Endocrine problems- The hormone production of the body also depends on the amount of sleep given to the body. E.g. The testosterone is produced only after you have 3 hours of undisturbed sleep. Similarly, the growth hormone production from the pituitary gland also requires a good night sleep. Thus, you may be at risk of hormonal imbalance if there is an absence of good night sleep.

Health Benefits of Good Night Sleep

Keeping in mind the risks that a lack of good night sleep can cause, we certainly can also look into the health benefits that a good night sleep can guarantee to us. There are health benefits associated with physical, mental, and emotional conditions of our body.

1. Physical Benefits: There can be several improvements in the physical health that a goodnight sleep can bring such as.

• Maintains your blood pressure
• Improves your immunity
• Keeps your body active and fatigue-free
• Help maintain weight
• Reduces backaches and pains in the body
• Reduces risk of heart diseases
• Reduces the risk of Diabetes
• Improves athletic performances

1. Mental and Emotional Benefits: There is a deep connection between sleep and mental health. The research has shown that there are several health benefits to the mental health of the people who have a goodnight sleep compared to those who don’t. Some Mental benefits include.

• Reduces stress and worries
• Prevents from getting suicidal and anxious thoughts
• Helps improve the memory power
• Keeps your mood better
• Prevents from any mental disorders
• Keeps the mental stability
• Improves the ability to proper decision making
• Prevents overthinking
• Keeps the emotions in check
• Can improve your thinking abilities and make you smarter

Tips to Get a Good Night Sleep

Often you may not be able to adjust yourself in getting a goodnight sleep. But before you launch into medical supervision you can try these natural remedies so that you can get a good night sleep.

1. Meditate
2. Good diet
3. Keep dehydrated
4. Keep a sleep pattern
5. Yoga
6. Proper lighting during night
7. Limiting overthinking
8. Drinking tea like chamomile and lavender tea

These are some of the tips that can aid you to go to sleep at night. Keeping in mind the health benefits it is very integral to give your body some rest and have a good night sleep to keep yourself fit and healthy.