Why is Sleep So Important For Your Health?

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You know you’re not at your best when you haven’t slept well. Not only do you feel irritated and lethargic, but you can’t focus on your work too.

With a hectic life, social commitments, and endless to-do lists it is all too easy to go without sleep. But shorting yourself on sleep can be bad for almost every aspect of your well-being in a number of ways.

If you’ve been having trouble falling asleep for a long time, include Krishna’s Sleep Health Juice in your routine. It is a natural solution that can support your sleep cycle and help you manage stress and anxiety.

Sleep is crucial for both your brain and body, but a 2018 National Sleep Foundation (NSF) poll shows that only 10 percent of adults prioritize sleep over other daily activities like work and hobbies. Let’s understand what sleep does for your body and why sleep is so important for your health.

What Exactly is Sleep, And How Does it Help You Stay Healthy?

Sleep is a state where you become less aware of your surroundings and remain still and quiet, depending on the sleep stage. Despite your calm physical state, your brain stays very active, performing a variety of processes. Your brain is busy consolidating memories, organizing your thoughts, and clearing out toxins that could harm your mental health. Meanwhile, your immune system gets a power boost by producing infection-fighting cells to defend against diseases.

Your heart slows down to give itself a break, yet it’s still pumping blood, ensuring oxygen and nutrients reach every part of your body. Your muscles repair themselves, your liver detoxifies, and your hormones find balance.

So, even though you’re in dreamland, your organs are working overtime, making sure you stay strong, energized, and protected when you wake up. Sleep is crucial for every function in your body, influencing your physical and mental well-being the next day, helping your immune system fight off illness, and playing a role in metabolism and the risk of chronic diseases.

Stages of Sleep

A typical sleep cycle lasts around 90 minutes. To feel rested, you should aim for four to six sleep cycles every 24 hours. Each cycle has four stages: three stages of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and one stage of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. The time spent in each stage can differ, but each stage remains largely the same.

NREM Stage One. This is the lightest stage of sleep which lasts for five to 10 minutes. During this stage, your body and brain activity begin to slow down as you “doze off.” You may experience muscle jerks or a sensation of falling. If awakened during this stage, you may not perceive that you were actually asleep.

NREM Stage Two. In this stage, your muscles relax, your body temperature drops and your heart rate and breathing slow down. Eye movements stop, and the brain produces slower waves, but there are still brief bursts of rapid brain activity, which help store memories and block out sensory input. This stage prepares you for deep sleep and can last up to 25 minutes.

NREM Stage Three. This is deep sleep when your muscles and eyes are fully relaxed. Your body works on repairing itself by regenerating tissue, strengthening the immune system, and building bones and muscle. It becomes more difficult to wake you up during this stage, and if disturbed, you may feel groggy for up to an hour.

REM Sleep. This stage is when you dream. Your brain becomes highly active which almost matches or exceeds your usual brain activity when you’re awake. Your body goes into a state of temporary paralysis, except the eyes, which move rapidly. Your heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate all rise. The first period of REM sleep occurs around 90 minutes into your sleep cycle, lasting about 10 minutes, with later REM stages becoming longer as the night continues.

How Much Sleep Do You Need?

Your sleep needs change with age. When you are a baby, you require a lot of sleep, but as you grow, your sleep needs decrease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the following average sleep durations based on age:

Age	Hours of Sleep Needed
0-3 months	14-17 hours
4-12 months	12-16 hours
1-2 years	11-14 hours
3-5 years	10-13 hours
6-12 years	09-12 hours
13-18 years	08-10 hours
19-64 years	7-9 hours
65+ years	7-8 hours

If you often have difficulty sleeping — or if you can’t sleep because of stress or anxiety— try Krishna’s Sleep Health Juice for a healthy sleep cycle. It contains herbs that naturally help in falling asleep.

Learn More About Ayurvedic Herbs for Sleep

Symptoms and Side Effects of Not Getting Enough Sleep

Missing even one or two hours of sleep can affect your mood and overall health. So, how do you know that your sleep deprivation is the reason for your next-day grogginess? Here are some common signs:

Difficulty staying awake when doing nothing (like watching TV)
Trouble concentrating
Slow responses in conversations
Forgetfulness
Lack of motivation
More mood swings or irritability
Constantly yawning
Feeling drowsy all day
Needing several short naps
Feeling tired all the time

If these symptoms happen regularly, it’s important to pay attention. Not getting enough sleep or routinely getting broken sleep can lead to serious long-term health issues, such as:

Also Read: 7 Simple Tips For a More Restful Night

Why Sleep Matters: 5 Reasons to Get More Sleep

1. Supercharges Your Brain

When you’re sleep-deprived, remembering details and focusing can be much harder. That’s because sleep is important for both learning and memory. Without enough of it, you can not concentrate and learn new information. Also, your brain doesn’t have enough time to properly store memories that you can recall later.

2. Keeps Your Heart Happy

During sleep, your blood pressure slows down, so that your heart and blood vessels can take a little rest. The more you run low on sleep, the longer your blood pressure stays up. Consistently high blood pressure during a 24-hour cycle can lead to heart problems and stroke.

3. Supports a Healthy Weight

When you’re well-rested, you’re less likely to feel hungry because sleep controls the hormones in your brain, leptin and ghrelin, which influence hunger. When these hormones are out of balance, it becomes harder to resist unhealthy food cravings. Plus, when you’re tired, you’re less motivated to exercise. Together, this can make weight management an uphill battle.

4. Balances Your Mood

During sleep, your brain works to process and regulate emotions helping you respond appropriately to them. If you don’t get enough sleep, your emotional reactions tend to be more negative and less positive. Evidence suggests chronic sleep deprivation can also increase the risk of mood disorders.

5. Helps Maintain a Steadier Blood Sugar

Sleep deprivation can affect your blood sugar levels and insulin (a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels) secretion as well. During the deep, slow-wave stage of sleep, blood glucose levels decrease, giving your body a chance to reset. Without enough time in this restorative phase, your blood sugar levels stay elevated and do not get utilised properly. So, prioritise deep sleep and you’ll be less likely to get type 2 diabetes.

The next time you think about skipping sleep, remember—it’s not a luxury; it’s a necessity. And if you can’t seem to get enough, try Krishna’s Sleep Health Juice to maintain a regular sleep schedule.