Quality sleep is known to be highly important for the health of your children. Many people are found to be curious about whether their life can be improved by one more hour of sleep. According to experts, this can indeed have an important role to play in improving the quality of life. Various studies show that the gap between too little or just enough sleep can have a major impact on almost every aspect of life, whether your mood, your body weight or your overall health. In case your child is not getting the recommended 8 hours of sleep every day, here are top 5 reasons how their health can be affected.
- Sleep improves immunity
If your child is suffering from cough and cold too often these days, you might have the less sleep to blame. Their immune system can be seriously disrupted by long-term lack of sleep, and they will be less capable of keeping infections at bay. With long-term deprivation of sleep, they can suffer from higher level of blood pressure, higher cardiac rate and increase in the level of specific chemicals which are associated with inflammation. These can also put their heart under strain.
In case this is allowed to go on, their overall health can seriously be impacted. They will become vulnerable to acute medical disorders, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiac disease and obesity. They will begin to feel drowsy and even fall asleep during daytime. There will be increased risk of accidents on the road, at home and at workplace.
A preliminary study tried to test whether or not common cold can be prevented by having enough sleep. More than 150 individuals were tracked by researchers and their sleep habits were monitored for 2 weeks. All participants were then exposed to a cold virus. Those who slept for 7 hours during this period were found to be more at risk of catching cold than those who slept for 8 hours at night. Although the study was small in size, the results could have been affected by other factors and more research is required in order to demonstrate a true connection, it remains a fact that 8 hours of sleep has higher benefits.
- Sleep helps to stay fit
Less hours of sleep can also increase the weight of your child. Various studies have proven that those who do not even sleep for 7 hours every night are at 30% higher risk of becoming fatter than people who have 9 hours of sleep or more. People deprived of sleep are supposed to have lowered levels of the chemical known as Leptin which can give them sensation of feeling fuller. They also suffer from a reduction of the hormone called ghrelin which stimulates hunger.
With enough sleep, you can easily keep your weight maintained. The loss of sleep can go hand in hand with a higher risk of obesity. Part of this issue is behavioral. In case you are fatigued, you will have less energy to go to the gym or even cook up a nutritious meal after office hours. Psychology also plays a big role. It is due to the hormone called Leptin that people feel fuller. Lack of enough sleep makes the level of this hormone drop. Naturally, people who are fatigued are hungrier and always seem to have a great desire for foods รขโฌโ especially those with high-calorie and high fat content.
- Sleep improves mental health
Although not sleeping for a night occasionally can make your child feel irritable and fatigued the following morning, it will not impair their health. However, this can indeed occur after losing sleep for several nights. They will begin to suffer from serious mental problems, and suffer from brain fog, difficulties in making decisions and inability to concentrate well.
Those who suffer from chronic loss of sleep can suffer from moodiness, irritability, anxiety and depression. Those with chronic mood problems such as depression or anxiety are often found to sleep for less than 6 hours every night. Lack of concentration, short temper and tiredness are some of the common problems suffered after poor sleep for a night. Did you ever dream of becoming a leader in your chosen sphere?รย Know about the things that make introverts great leaders and see how you can give memory the required boost, do away with your insecurities and shyness.
Although having sufficient sleep is not a guarantee for a cheerful temperament, they will find themselves to be crankier when exhausted. Their emotional balance will also be affected by lack of enough sleep. They are likelier to begin laughing hysterically, crying for slightest reasons and reacting more angrily when you are fatigued. Regulating the mood can become harder with improper or insufficient sleep.
- Sleep prevents diabetes
Various researches have indicated that those who sleep generally less than 5 hours every night suffer from a higher risk of developing diabetes. It appears that Type 2 diabetes can occur due to lack of deep sleep, and the way glucose is processed by the body is also changed as a result.
Many people begin to suffer from serious health problems due to lack of sleep, which gets evident after many years. A study with 10 healthy young shift workers found 3 of them having abnormal blood glucose levels after just 4 nights of disturbed sleep patterns, which would qualify them to be pre-diabetic.