There’s the obvious reason being that sleep allows your body to recharge. However, people often overlook so many other aspects of it such as:
Consistency
Consistent sleep is important for your body’s internal clock also known as your circadian rhythm. When you go to bed at 11 pm and wake up at 7 am on weekdays and then stay up until 2am on the weekend and sleep in, this messes up your circadian rhythm and gives you symptoms of jet lag. It’s as if your body traveled into another time zone and is trying to recover. This is why you may feel like you got hit by a truck on Monday mornings, due to a lack of consistent sleeping.
Duration
Duration of sleep is also so important for reasons such as concentration, fighting off disease and increased performance in daily activities. It’s recommended that adults get 7-9 hours a night. Setting a bedtime and nightly routine can help with ensuring an adequate duration of sleep.
Quality
Sleeping is necessary for concentration, performance, and productivity. Poor quality sleep usually can look like: waking up in the night, being tired in the day, or not being able to sleep. Having a poor quality sleep can weaken your immune system and cause you to get sick! Good quality sleep is also helpful for your mental health! Things like having a dark room, getting off your phone 30 minutes before bed, and having a bedtime routine can all help improve your sleep quality!
Another reason to get more sleep is that it can aid in your fitness journey! Not only does your body need it to recharge but it also needs it to regulate your metabolism! Lack of sleep increases the hormone ghrelin and decreases leptin levels. Ghrelin makes you feel hungry and leptin makes you feel full. This can cause you to feel hungrier and overeat!
