Why Does Sleep Feel So Good?
Why does sleep feel so good? It's a question we ask often and on days we struggle to get out of bed. It's something we almost always want more of, be it a few more minutes to even up to a couple of hours. In this article, we'll take a deep into the science of sleep. By the end, you'll have a good understanding of the process and answers to your questions concerning why sleep feels so good.
Why Does Sleep Feel So Good?
Sleep is one of the ways in which the body tries to recover from all the physical, mental, emotional, and psychological stresses it undergoes throughout the day. Getting a restful night of good quality sleep provides feelings of contentment; it allows your body to reset and prepare for the next day.
Unfortunately, those who are unable to achieve a deep sleep run the risk of being sleep-deprived. And sleep deprivation, if left unaddressed, can have a damaging impact on both your physical and mental health. It can weaken your immune system, cause mood changes, lead to memory issues, and even put you at risk of diabetes.
Sleep vs. Rest
After a hard day’s work, you want and need to rest. But is rest the same as sleeping? These two terms are often used interchangeably, but sleeping is actually quite different from resting. While sleeping is a restful activity that occurs when most functions in your body shut down, it is not the same as rest.
When you are sleeping, you lose consciousness of anything that’s happening around you. On the other hand, resting is a state in which you have complete consciousness and awareness of your surroundings. When you want to rest, you decide to stop all activity around you. The same occurs when you sleep, but not always on a voluntary basis.
Beyond that, resting allows you to maintain control over all your senses. Your brain activity continues as it does in other wakeful states. But when you fall into a deep sleep, significant changes take place in your brain. As you go through different stages of sleep, the brain's waves become larger and slower.
5 Amazing Things That Happen When We Sleep
Sleeping is one of the most natural functions our body performs, but there’s much more to it than simply closing your eyes and letting the body and brain shut down. What we may not be aware of is that a good night’s sleep results in significant benefits that carry a major impact on our well-being. Here are some of the best things that happen when we sleep:
1. Improves Concentration and Productivity
When you get an adequate amount of sleep, your brain becomes refreshed and more focused. It allows you to be more productive when performing tasks.
Just like the amount of sleep, the quality also matters. If you wake up early feeling energized, refreshed, and recovered, it indicates that you had good quality sleep.
When we sleep, our brain forges pathways that are important in memory formation and maintenance. This, in turn, helps improve problem-solving skills and enhances our learning abilities.
2. Contributes to Physical Health
During sleep, our bodies recover physically. The body tissues are repaired and further strengthened. The heart is also resting when we sleep, so the blood pressure normalizes and boosts cardiovascular health. This helps you feel stronger after a good night’s sleep; renewed and energized the following day.
3. Improves Mental Health
You must have noticed that when you don’t get enough sleep, you tend to be irritable, quick to anger, and easily frustrated.
Poor sleeping habits and lack of sleep are known to cause mental health issues like anxiety and depression.
Sleep can enhance your mental health and help you maintain a more positive approach in life. When our bodies are attuned to the circadian rhythm, it has the power to heal our minds in the same way it does our bodies.
4. Boosts Immunity
During sleep, the body releases a protein called cytokines that helps fight infection, inflammation, and body trauma.
Without enough and good sleep quality, your immune system may not function at its best. It can also make you susceptible to different illnesses, as your body cannot keep up with its needed recovery.
5. Enhances Your Mood
A sleepless night makes you vulnerable to stress and short tempers, but once you get proper sleep, your mood returns to normal. You guessed it, sleep is directly linked to your mood and outlook. A much-needed restful sleep boosts positivity and could even make you more patient. Even if you've had a bad night's sleep, a quick nap may be enough to help lighten the mood.
Why Do Some People Have a Hard Time Falling Asleep?
All of us, at some point, have faced challenges falling asleep. Tossing and turning for hours on end can make any of us feel physically and mentally tired. Here are some of the factors that can cause problems falling asleep:
- Poor sleeping habits
- Lifestyle and food choices
- Medical conditions
- Aging
- Too much stimulation before going to bed
- Too much caffeine consumption
- Stimulated emotions
- Noise disturbances
- Too much sleep during the day
- Frequent urination
- Uncomfortable sleeping environment
- Shifting work schedules
- Prescription drugs
Sleep disorders like insomnia, restless legs syndrome, and sleep apnea
Conclusion
Sleeping is an essential part of being human and of life. It's right up there with breathing and eating. Still, there's so much we don't know about what really happens when we fall asleep. Today, researchers are forging ahead with their attempts to understand how sleep affects the ways in which the brain functions.
If you find yourself struggling to fall or stay asleep, Sandland Sleep has the right solution for you. Our all-natural, sublingual supplements are made using hemp extracts to help us fall asleep and stay asleep naturally.
All ingredients are carefully selected and formulated to send natural signals to your body by interacting with the body’s endocannabinoid system. Sandland Sleep supplements will help you enjoy clean 8-hours of sleep without feeling groggy in the morning.
Sleep feels as if it goes by fast because some part of your brain shuts down, particularly the ones concerning your consciousness. This marks the arrival at one of the significant stages of sleep cycles, slow-wave sleep. During this time, we fall into a dream-like state and our perception of time goes right out the window.
Getting to complete your eight to nine hours of sleep makes you feel rested, so when you wake up, you have a feeling of positivity. This is because your body releases a hormone called melatonin when you sleep that triggers a relaxed sensation through your body. Sleeping at night typically gives your body the time to refresh. So after waking up, you feel happy, relaxed, and good in the morning. Other factors that affect what you feel are your circadian cycle and sleep cycle.
Napping is a quick way to recharge and relax. It can improve your mood and rejuvenate you. They say 10-20 minutes is enough to help you regain some energy after waking up. Warding off feelings of sleepiness can also help improve your emotions, strengthen the way you control your emotions, boost learning, and assist in memory formation.
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