YOU CAN’T CHEAT SLEEP

By Akande Aanuoluwapo 

If you were to make a list of your most important things to do and sleep is the last thing on your list, you’re not alone, there are many like you, who don’t pay attention to their sleep cycle. However, many turn their backs on the fact that sleep is what fuels us to do the other things that we deem important. So, how important is sleep and in what way can its inadequacy affect our health?

According to the National Sleep Foundation, the hours at which we sleep differs based on our ages and personality. Newborns and babies need around 14-17 hours, teenagers need around 8-10 hours and adults need around 7-9 hours of sleep. We need to check our sleep habits, do we sleep for these recommended hours consistently? No matter how insignificant we view sleep, its importance to our health cannot be undermined.

A notable importance of good sleep is the ability to be more productive. Ironically, we ignore sleep so that we can do better while we forget that sleeping boosts our capacity to do more work. This is because the lack of sleep can affect our ability to process and remember information. Sleep also increases the body’s capability to develop immunity and fight diseases. We have a sharper brain, a good mind, and a healthier heart when we sleep well.

We all want to fight against sleep but we forget that sleep cannot be avoided as it always leaves a negative mark on your body when we don’t pay attention to it. Who would think that the deprivation of sleep can lead to the tendency to gain more weight? According to a three-year cohort study by Daiki Kobayashi, they found a correlation between sleep and obesity. Also, the consistent deprivation of sleep can lead to chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes and stroke. It’s therefore important not to avoid sleep.

If you find it hard to sleep, you can improve the quality of your sleep by putting smartphones away when asleep, avoiding late meals, exercising regularly during the day, and limiting naps during the day. 

In conclusion, we are to treat sleep as a medicine as sleep is not only important for boosting the body’s energy, it’s also important for seemingly inconsequential things like the increase in sex drive.