Stressful day at the office? Long hours doing yard work and housework? Hard day of school?
All this can be repaired with a nice, long slumber. You awake the next day feeling calm, refreshed and ready for anything. The stresses, aches and pains of the previous day are long gone. Most people would agree that there’s nothing better than a good night’s sleep.
“When I get home after a long day of school and work, the first thing I want to do is crawl into bed and just go to bed”, Chance Coffman said.
There have been thousands of sleep studies performed over the years, but we still aren’t exactly sure why we sleep. The old joke is that the function of sleep is to cure sleepiness. Prior to 1951, scientists thought bedtime was merely shutdown mode for both the body and mind.
It wasn’t until a graduate student at the University of Chicago hooked his son to a brain wave machine during sleep that we learned about rapid eye movement (REM); sleep periods when the brain speeds up its activity.
During REM sleep our eyes twitch, our limbs and facial muscles may move and we dream. This is also where muscles repair themselves, memory has the chance to store information, and the release of hormones regulating growth and appetite are also present.
When we sleep well, we wake up feeling refreshed and alert for our daily activities. Sleep affects how we look, feel and perform on a daily basis, and can have a major impact on our overall quality of life.
“Sleep is very important because it allows our brain and body to repair themselves. I know after I get a good night’s rest, I feel stronger the next day. That’s why I go to bed at 7:30 every night”, Neil Runcie said.
One sleep theory is that our brain goes over the information it received that day and decides what should stick around and where it should go. Think of your brain as a computer desktop. During the night, anything we learned that day is filed away in the proper folders, or moved to the recycle bin. Behavioral research supports this notion, but sleep is so mysterious and different for each person that it’s tough to get accurate results.
Sleep is very important for students, keeping you alert, awake during lectures, and giving you the energy you need to carry out your day.
Here are some facts about what happens when you get a good night’s rest.
1. You’ll be able to build muscle more easily.
2. You’ll learn better.
3. You’ll be a better and safer driver.
4. It’s one of the best ways to stay fit.
5. People who don’t get sleep are more prone to getting sick.
6. You’ll have better moods
7. Adolescents who sleep enough are less likely to abuse alcohol and drugs