Moreover sleeping at night is part of our physiological make up. The mere absence of daylight is a signal to the body that it is time to wind down everything else and give the mind and bodies some much needed rest. However all is not as well and as simple as it seems. There are those who cannot sleep well and there are those that will not. In the former category I put the involuntary insomniacs-people who want to have better night sleep, but are unable to do so. The latter categories belongs to the voluntary insomniacs who are usually willing insomniacs who sacrifice a few hours of their required sleep everyday in order to work some more towards the achievement of their goals-mostly to do with money and career.

But not sleeping is very unhealthy. To those that sleep less I would pose the question- what would it be like to have a better night sleep? How would it make you feel? Apart from making you feel rejuvenated getting more than six hours of sleep every night significantly lowers the risk of you developing high blood pressure and cholesterol, which could lead to a stroke or a heart attack. Also, lack of sleep causes skin to lose its sheen. The face appears dull and saggy.

Your risk for developing cancer of the breast and colon too goes down by getting a regular quota of 6 to 9 hours of sleep every night. This is because those that stay up late at night have greater exposure to light which in turn leads to a reduction in the level of melatonin in the body-the hormone that makes us sleepy and protects us against cancer. Thus it is important that you have better night sleep.

Getting a good night’s sleep also keeps stress at bay which in turn translates to effective protection against high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke. It also reduces inflammation in the body, a major cause the deterioration of body and ageing. Now that we know that sleeping at night is crucial for our health, what can we do to have better night sleep? Well for one you should have a better sleep environment. Things like sleeping on a comfortable bed, using clean bed linen, ensuring adequate ventilation and insulation from disturbing sounds would go a long way in ensuring that you get a comfortable night’s sleep.

You should also ensure total darkness and silence for better night sleep. As you know by now that light impacts on the human body in a particular way, and even though you may like to sleep with the TV on your sleep quality does suffer because of the sound emanating from it, even though you may be fast asleep.

The time we spend in sleeping determines the kind of performance we will deliver the next day. The doctors recommend a complete eight hours rest for every individual. But this also depends from person to person. Few people remain very active even after receiving six hours of sleep. Their energy level is equal to a person getting sleep of eight hours.

The amount of energy spent by an adult in today’s life makes it very important for them to have a sound sleep. Even after knowing how important restful sleep is, the busy schedule does not allow people to sleep well.  This ignorance, thus, is the base of all health problems which is increasing everyday.

Results of Not Having Enough Sleep

People, today, are facing a lot of health problems which are affecting their performance at work. The lack of sleep results in:

• Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Mental weakness
• Lack of mental alertness i.e. concentration
• Hypertension
• Cardiovascular problems
• Diabetes
• Weight gain

Lack of restful sleep also causes sleepiness during the day time that can be very dangerous for it can be the cause of small or major accidents.

Quality and Quantity Matters

Sleep is equally important for our well being as is exercise and good food habits. However, quantity of sleep for us is as important as the quality of sleep. You need to ensure that you get restful sleep for your body. The essential requirements of good sleep ensures that your body is fit enough to fight diseases.

Ensure Good Sleep with Some Basic Tips

For a sound sleep, you must follow several steps like:

• Having a sleep routine. Fix a time for going to bed and waking up from sleep.
• Minimize noise and light in the room.
• Avoid taking heavy meals before bedtime as it can disrupt sleep as the digestive system remains active.
• Don’t involve in any laborious exercise or activity within two to three hours of being on bed. If you require exercising then make sure that you complete it before three hours.
• Avoid the intake of nicotine, caffeine or alcohol within four hours of your usual bedtime.
• Have healthy and nutritional food which includes fresh fruits and fresh green vegetables.

The above mentioned tips will help you have a restful sleep that will benefit your body in every way. You need to understand the importance and make certain that you maintain a balance between work and a good night’s sleep.