I am sure we have all heard that the average recommended sleep time is 8 hours a night. However, a lot of us, including me, rarely follow this guide on a daily basis. Once I started researching what our bodies are doing while we sleep, and why it is so important for our bodily functions that we get enough sleep, I started making sleep a priority. So that is my hope for you as well. That after understanding the true importance of getting enough sleep, you may be able to prioritize it in your life and start seeing real impacts on your health.
Let’s first start off by defining what sleep is, other than closing your eyes and opening them hours later. Sleep is a daily period of physiological changes in both the mind and body which prepares the body for its next period of wakefulness. The important part to remember is that sleep’s main purpose is to restore and repair our mind and body. Let’s get into what is being restored and repaired.
There are different areas that are prioritized the most during our sleep. The first being, brain processing, memory formation, and consolidation. During our REM sleep state (rapid eye movement) fresh memories are taken from the hippocampus (short-term memory) to the cortex (long-term memory). This is why sufficient sleep is especially recommended to students so that the material they are studying can be stored in the cortex. This can only happen when our bodies go through enough sleep cycles in the night. Dreaming is also another process of sleep that is important, however, not much information is available to indicate why and how dreams come to be.
Our bodies growth hormone is at its highest production during sleep hours. This helps to aid in tissue healing and growth. Also, good immune system function is directly impacted by quality sleep. This is because our immune cell activity is the highest during sleep hours. This is the reason why we feel the need to sleep more when we are sick. During our sleep, our bodies are also making new neural connections, known as synaptic plasticity.
The last two things that our bodies prioritize during sleep are detoxification and microbiome management. Our cells produce waste through energy use, and this waste must be escorted out after it enters the bloodstream. The liver and kidneys filter waste to fully get rid of the toxic compounds. Our brain cells shrink when we sleep, allowing more space and function for detoxification.
In the end, all these things allow our body to function properly during the day. When we don’t get sufficient sleep, we can see the direct impacts during the day. Low energy, slower responses, brain fog, easily susceptible to being sick, and more. My recommendation for you is to set a sleep and wake time with at least 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Do this for a week and see the differences throughout the day, if they seem to be improving your quality of life, turn it into a lifestyle.