Why is sleep important?

What happens during sleep?

As you sleep, your brain goes through different stages and types of sleep, including: wake, light sleep, deep sleep and REM (rapid eye movement). During a night's sleep, the brain will go through these stages in repeated cycles, at varying time lengths.

Each sleep stage provides a different type of replenishment and nourishment for the body. Health benefits of the different stages of sleep include:

• Hormone release - for growth (children), organ health, cell repair and fertility
• Heart and vascular system rest
• Immune system health and recovery from illness or infection
• Information storage - learning retention, memories and dreams

All of the stages of sleep (in repeated cycles) are necessary to wake up the next day feeling rested and energized.

What can I do about insomnia?

Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that makes it hard to fall asleep and stay asleep. The good news is that most forms of insomnia can be managed by reducing caffeine and alcohol intake, putting away the electronic devices early and getting enough physical and mental activity during the day.

If you suffer from frequent insomnia, ask your primary care physician about other changes you can make to help you sleep.

What health problems can occur due to poor sleep?

We know that we feel tired and grumpy when we don't get enough sleep. Lack of adequate sleep interferes with the critical brain-body processes above, resulting in health problems over time. We all have the occasional sleepless night, but the harmful effects of long term sleep loss are hard to recover.

Lack of sleep can lead to serious health issues:

• Anxiety and depression
• Weight gain
• Heart disease and high blood pressure
• Diabetes