Sleep
10 Reasons You Should Go to Sleep Right Now
On the myriad benefits of sleep.
Posted March 25, 2015 Reviewed by Ekua Hagan
I'm not usually in the habit of writing listicle-type blog posts, but I'm giving a talk for my college's peer health education and wellness organization tomorrow evening on the benefits of sleep, and thought I'd share some of these brief thoughts and links more widely.
Without further ado, here are 10 reasons you should pull up a pillow and catch some Zzzs. (Click on the hyperlinked reason for a supporting research article for each).
C'mon. Sleep is the best. There is really nothing like a good, hard rest.
9. Get Better Grades/Perform Better at Work.
A large body of literature confirms that sleep improves consolidation of memory, and several prominent sleep researchers believe that memory consolidation may, in fact, be one of the driving purposes behind sleep and dreaming. Correlational studies have also revealed an association between number of hours of sleep and various sorts of academic or job performance.
8. Be a Better Athlete/Fitness Junkie.
Good sleep can not only improve your performance in the classroom or workplace, but can also improve your performance on the playing field or at the gym.
In the research article linked above, researchers at Stanford University found that extending basketball player's time in bed led to demonstrable improvement in their sprinting speeds.
7. Lose or Maintain Weight.
"Sleep and metabolism are controlled by the same sectors of the brain," Dr. Rapoport says. "When you are sleepy, certain hormones go up in your blood, and those same hormones drive appetite."
6. Don’t Mess with Your Libido and Sexual Performance (and Fertility)
Sleep disruptions can wreak havoc not just on your appetite-regulating hormones, but also hormones related to sex drive and fertility.
5. Look Young and Attractive
We don't really need science to show that when you don't sleep, you look terrible. An artistic demonstration of this point was performed by photographer Julie Hembree, who took a series of photographs of young people right after 48 hours of sleep deprivation and then again after a night of rest.
4. Dreaming is Fun, Probably Important... And You Can Fly!
WHY we dream is still a bit of a mystery, but several prominent theories point to dreaming as being important for the consolidation of memory, the solving of thorny problems, and preparing for future actions or challenges.
Moreover, you can teach yourself to lucid dream, which most people report to be a euphoric experience. And in your dreams, you can fly!
3. Not Sleeping Can Make You Sick
Your body relies on regularity, and depriving it of sleep or routinely changing your sleep schedule can lead to a cascade of negative effects on everything from your mood to your immune system.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “Drowsiness has been the cause of 100,000 traffic crashes each year, killing more than 1,500 Americans and injuring another 71,000".
And Daylight Savings messing with your circadian rhythms certainly doesn't help.
And finally,
1. Freddy Isn’t Real
That is, I'm pretty sure.
Rest well, friends.
