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Quality sleep is important for our lives. Expert studies show that if we sleep poorly over a long period, this problem will manifest in many areas of our life, not only, for example, in our mood, performance or activity, but also in our health. With long-term lack of sleep, the development of illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases or cancer is associated. Usually the sufficiently long period of sleep that our body needs is given as seven to eight hours. You may be surprised that women generally need to sleep a little longer than men.
The reason is multitasking
Studies conducted by the American Sleep Research Center link this need for slightly longer sleep to the fact that the female brain consumes more energy during the day than the male one, because women are often able to do several activities at once, which is more demanding for the brain. It then needs approximately twenty minutes more sleep at night for its regeneration. In general, the more we burden our brain during the day, for example at work, the more time the brain, more precisely the cerebral cortex, then needs for regeneration during the deep phase of sleep. For this reason, managers who deal all day with organizing work and other problems often have a greater need for sleep than people who do manual work.
Research related to sleep also points out that for sleep to be truly beneficial for our body, it must be of good quality. That means that during it a person must completely relax and reach the deep phase of sleep; only then will you feel not only rested in the morning, but your brain will react faster and you will consequently remember necessary things better.
Tips for improving sleep quality
Poor-quality sleep has a large impact not only on our concentration, where due to its effect we are not able to concentrate well and for long on work or study, but at the same time the problem of poor sleep is often considered one of the main causes of traffic accidents. Insufficient and poor sleep go hand in hand with mood swings, irritability or, conversely, apathy. Last but not least, chronic fatigue associated with sleep problems can be the cause of certain mental health issues, such as depression.
Experts have come up with several tips that can help you not only with falling asleep faster after getting into bed, but also with making your sleep beneficial for your body. One of the most common recommendations is to limit the use of your mobile phone, computer and watching television at least two hours before you go to sleep. The reason is the blue light that these devices emit and which has a negative effect on sleep. Other tips concern having a light dinner at least an hour before sleeping, listening to calm music or performing relaxation exercises to relax the mind.
