In our performance-oriented-society sleep often has a bad reputation. Some politicians and top-managers even proclaim that they only need from 4 to 5 hours sleep. A misjudgment, because during sleep important groundwork is laid — not only for our health but also for thinking ability and judgment. Neurologists even go so far that constant lack of sleep is able to damage our brain on long term.
So, is sleeping really a waste of time for successful people? Let’s take a look on the consequences of sufficient healthy and recreational sleep resp. of lack of sleep.
First of all: How much is sufficient sleep? In fact, that variates: but, on an average grown-ups need 7 to 8 hours of high quality sleep to stay healthy and efficient. Body, mind and soul need sleep for recreation, detoxification, for processing the daily impressions, solidification of learned things, amongst others. When we are having too less sleep, we are weakening our immune system, science even suggests that diseases like diabetes, cancer and Alheimer’s are staying in direct connection with lack of sleep. Especially during the deep sleep phases which are important for the physical recreation the whole organism recreates, tissue damages are repaired, healing processes activate, sick cells get replaced with new, healthy ones and are fueled.
By the way, beauty sleep really exists: during sleep the moisture depots under the skin get filled up again, so, sufficient and recreational sleep cares for a glowing complexion whereas lack of sleep lets us look tired and old.
Since processing of learned and new stuff is happening in the night during sleeping, sleep is important for our brain capacity. It’s amazing, in spite our apparent inactivity our energy consumption during night is insignificantly lower than during daytime. But still, we do not need any food. Reason for that is, that during sleep the appetite inhibiting hormone leptin is released. As soon as the sleep is disrupted the natural opponent of leptin -– ghrelin -– becomes prevalent and hunger arises. Facts that led some researchers to this statement: “to less sleep makes stupid and fat”.
Further it is proven that people with a lack of sleep have the same reactivity like people with an alcohol level of 100 milliliters. A poor base for conducting endless-meetings, making important decisions or driving to work with the car.
For successful people sleep is a waste of time? Anything else but that! Especially people who want to be successful and who have to make important decisions should attach utmost importance to sufficient and recreational sleep!
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This post is also available in / Diesen Beitrag gibt es auch in: German
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