A Sedentary State of Us: Why Do We Sleep?

When the stars slowly reveal their bright shine as the night comes, we need to sleep just like every other animal living on the planet. We spend one-third of our precious lives doing so, but why do we sleep? We spend more than 7 hours a day sleeping unconsciously, but have you ever thought about why we sleep in the first place? 

Why Is Sleep Important

Researchers are still not exactly sure about the purpose of sleeping. But they all agree that there are various acceptable explanations for why we sleep. Here are the most accepted theories about why we sleep:

Restoration of Cells

The theory is that while we sleep, damaged cells are repaired. Processes like hormone release, tissue growth, protein synthesis, and the repairing of muscles are all done during sleep, validating this idea.

Brain Functions

Sleep is required to keep the functions of the brain running. While we sleep, the brain clears out waste from the nervous system, removing toxins from the brain that piles up all day. The brain also uses sleep as an opportunity to manage memories, like erasing unwanted memories and converting short-term memories into long-term memories.

Hormone Management and Function

The brain uses hormones to control our muscle growth and weight. The hormones needed to manage many systems of our body, such as melatonin, insulin, serotonin, and cortisol might get imbalanced if you lack sleep. The growth hormone somatropin is secreted, and torn muscle tissue is rebuilt and repaired during sleep, so sleeping plays a crucial role in development.

Heart Health

Many scientists think that sleeping supports heart health because there is a known link between poor sleep and heart disease. So it could be said that sleeping also allows the heart to rest a little after a day’s work.

What Happens if We Don’t Get Enough Sleep?

Our body tends to struggle to function properly without enough sleep. It is like going on a long road trip with your car without having breaks to cool down the engine. Accordingly, sleep deprivation makes us prone to chronic problems, such as: 

• Weakened immune system
• Mood swings
• Heart diseases
• Blood pressure problems
• A decline in mental health

In Conclusion, How Much Sleep Do We Need?

Sleeping is crucial for our body to maintain itself in many ways. Humans need to sleep about 7 to 9 hours every night. Even though people think that shorter periods of sleep are also enough to get a night’s rest, this is not the case for most people. It is possible that you may not feel like sleeping more than 6 hours, so it is probably best to get at least 6 hours of sleep each day.