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Quality sleep leads to a number of mental and physical health benefits. Learn the many ways sleep helps your body and strategies for getting better sleep.
An individual's need for sleep varies, but the consequences of not getting enough sleep can include drug, tobacco and alcohol abuse, nightmares and sleep terrors, poor decision making, reduced learning at school and traffic accidents.
Good sleep can maximize problem-solving skills and enhance memory. In contrast, poor sleep has been shown to impair brain function and decision making skills.
It can make getting a good night’s sleep on a regular basis seem like a dream. But sleep is as important for good health as diet and exercise. Good sleep improves your brain performance, mood, and health. Not getting enough quality sleep regularly raises the risk of many diseases and disorders.
Scientists have gone to great lengths to fully understand sleep's benefits. In studies of humans and other animals, they have discovered that sleep plays a critical role in immune function, metabolism, memory, learning, and other vital functions.
During sleep, your body is working to support healthy brain function and maintain your physical health. In children and teens, sleep also helps support growth and development. Getting inadequate sleep over time can raise your risk for chronic (long-term) health problems.
The benefits of sleep are many. Sleep plays a crucial role in tissue repair, hormone regulation, and overall health. Getting enough sleep boosts brain power, improves weight management, and reduces stress and inflammation. Most adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep per day.
The benefits of sleep include better immune health, easier weight management, a healthier heart, improved mood, and a lower risk of mental health disorders and stress. Sounds pretty good, right? To get these sleep benefits, experts say adults need seven to nine hours of snoozing a night.
“Sleep services all aspects of our body in one way or another: molecular, energy balance, as well as intellectual function, alertness and mood,” says Dr. Merrill Mitler, a sleep expert and neuroscientist at NIH. When you’re tired, you can’t function at your best. Sleep helps you think more clearly, have quicker reflexes and focus better.
Sleep serves a variety of important physical and psychological functions, including: Learning and memory consolidation: Sleep helps with focus and concentration—and it allows the brain to register and organize memories —all of which are vital to learning.