We all know how good it feels to have a great night’s sleep, and equally how lack of sleep can make us feel grumpy, exhausted, and emotional as well as taking its physical toll on our health. So, just how important is consistently good sleep, and are we putting ourselves at risk if we aren’t getting enough of it?
What happens to our bodies when we sleep?
According to the Sleep Foundation, “when you sleep, your body undergoes a series of changes that enable the rest that is vital to your overall health. Sleep allows the brain and body to slow down and engage in processes of recovery, promoting better physical and mental performance the next day and over the long-term.”
In addition to this, sleep is crucial for the restoration of the immune system. During sleep, our immune system releases cytokines, which are proteins that help to fight off infection, inflammation, and stress. If we don’t get enough sleep, our bodies won’t produce enough cytokines meaning we will take longer to recover from illness and less likely to fight off infection.
What happens when we don’t get enough sleep?
Sleep deprivation or lack of sleep can have some serious short-term and long-term effects on our mental and physical health. From irritability and the inability to concentrate on work or daily tasks to increased stress and burnout, not getting enough sleep on a regular basis can have a huge impact on people’s lives.
Rebecca Robbins, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Population Health at NYU Langone Health, says “we have extensive evidence to show that sleeping five hours a night or less, consistently, increases your risk greatly for adverse health consequences, including cardiovascular disease and early mortality.”
Other health issues that may arise if we are deprived of sleep include:
- Impaired cognitive function – Lack of sleep can affect our ability to concentrate, make decisions, and solve problems
- Mood swings– Sleep deprivation can lead to irritability, anxiety, and depression
- Problems with memory – Not getting enough sleep can impair our ability to recall information
- Weakened immune system – Sleep helps the body fight off infections and diseases, therefor lack of sleep can weaken the immune system
- Increased risk of accidents – Sleep deprivation can impair our reaction time and coordination, increasing the risk of accidents
- Weight gain – Not getting enough sleep on a regular basis has been linked to weight gain and obesity
- High blood pressure – Lack of sleep can cause the body to produce more stress hormones, which can lead to high blood pressure
- Increased risk of diabetes – Not getting enough sleep can affect the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar levels, increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes.
- Cardiovascular disease – Chronic sleep deprivation has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke
How sleep can help recovery from illness or a traumatic injury
The road back to health can be long and challenging, and even with the most supportive team around you, your best chance at recovery starts with something as simple as getting enough sleep. Quality sleep can make a huge difference to recovery following an accident or injury as it’s essential to our physical and mental health.
During sleep, our bodies release growth hormones that we need even more of when we’re recovering from an injury. When we sustain an injury, proteins in our muscles, ligaments, and bones can get damaged and need to be replaced by new, healthy proteins. The growth hormones we produce in our sleep are responsible for building the new proteins that we need to recover. Sleep also reduces the level of stress hormones we produce called cortisol, allowing the growth hormones to work even more effectively.
Our bodies need as much help as they can get to heal following a traumatic injury and getting enough sleep is proven to support quicker and healthier recovery.
Technological advancements also means monitoring sleep is much easier now by the use of smart watches. Many of them take into consideration your sleep duration, quantity and some can even monitor environmental and lifestyle factors.
Our Associate Natalie Fraser said “Assessing the quality and quantity of sleep is a fundamental part of assessing daily living activities within a care report. Recommendations will be made taking into consideration expert medical opinion, along with the care experts own experience as to how the sleep can be improved. This could be by providing psychological support, medication regimes or generally considering their sleep hygiene, patterns of behaviour and or daily routines.”
Tessa Gough Associates offers a range of services from care, aids, and equipment reports and liability reports to immediate needs assessments. For more information about any of our services, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team.
