Thursday, 4 August 2011

BEL 120 - ASSIGNMENT 3 (ARTICLE REVIEW)

Why sleeping is Important for you

It doesn’t take long at all for the effects of lack of sleep to be felt. If you have ever flown from one side of the world to the other or stayed up all night studying you must know how badly even a mirror disruption to our sleep patterns can affect us. Haven’t we all gone along to exams or job interviews after a sleepless night and said to ourselves ‘If I had had a decent night’s sleep, I would have performed so much better.’?
If you keep a person awake for more than 72 hours they begin to have hallucinations and, beyond that, their physical and mental health deteriorates further. But it is not just a problem of physical exhaustion. Even if we are able to lie down in a comfortable bed, if we can’t sleep we feel tired the next day. Sleep deprivation seriously affects brain function; it also suppresses the growth hormones and can affect the immune system, hence the ability of the body to heal wounds. Moreover, recent research shows that obesity might have lack of sleep as its main cause, simply because the hormones that regulate glucose metabolism and appetite are disrupted by sleep deprivation.
It is not certain why this should be so and it is rather frustrating to hear that no matter how busy people have become in the last decades, they still need to sleep for about 8 hours every night in order to ‘function’. Clearly, if we didn’t spend a third of our lives sleeping we could accomplish much more.
Sleep scientists study the fortunate people who, for whatever reason, need substantially smaller amounts of sleep than others. If they were able to unlock the secret of those who can get on by a couple of hours sleep at night, the rest of us could benefit greatly, because we wouldn’t feel so anxious if, for some reason, we were unable to sleep from time to time. You may like to check Memory foam mattress toppers for mattress which helps in getting relaxed sleep.

My opinion for this article :-

        One of the most debated topics of today in Malaysia is Important of Sleeping. Nowadays more and more people sleep late at night and even they do not sleep. Some people believe that with just several hours of sleeping is enough. In my opinion, it is totally wrong! All of us need an enough time of sleep between 6-8 hours, but it is much better sleep with 8 hours.
       The reason why I choose this article because I want to increase awareness about the importance of sleep. Most people always sleep late at night or stayed up all night for studying, finish the office work, assignment and so on. If someone who does not sleep for 3 days or 72 hours, they begin to have hallucinations and, beyond that, their physical and mental health deteriorates further. Not only the physical exhaustion is experienced by people who is does not sleep, the brain function also be disturbing due to lack of sleep. Crown it all, the growth hormones will  suppresses and can affect the immune system, hence the ability of the body to heal wounds. Besides that, not only bad eating habits impact of obesity but lack of sleep can also cause obesity because the hormones that regulate glucose metabolism and appetite are disrupted by sleep deprivation.
       In my opinion, I strongly agree with this article. Everyone needs an enough sleep which is 8 hours per day. The benefits of sleep impact nearly every area of daily life. While it may be obvious that sleep is beneficial, most people don’t realize how much sleep they need and why it is so important. According to the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, your body manages and requires sleep in much the same way that it regulates the need for eating, drinking, and breathing. Extensive research has been done on the effects of sleep. These studies have consistently shown that sleep plays a vital role in promoting physical health, longevity, and emotional well-being.
Sleep Requirements by Age
Newborns (0-2 months old) 12-18 hours
Infants (3-11 months old) 14-15 Hours
Toddlers (1-3 years old)l 12-14 Hours
Pre-schoolers (3-5 years old) 11-13 Hours
School-aged Children (5-10 years old) 10-11 Hours
Teens (11-17 years old) 8-9 Hours
Adults 7-9 Hour

 There are several benefits of sleeping :-

Sleep helps to repair your body.
Your body produces extra protein molecules while you're sleeping that helps strengthen your ability to fight infection and stay healthy. These molecules help your immune system mend your body at a cellular level when you are stressed or have been exposed to compromising elements such as pollutants and infectious bacteria.
 Sleep helps keep your heart healthy.
Your cardiovascular system is c
Sleep reduces stress.
A good night's sleep can help lower blood pressure and elevated levels of stress hormones, which are a natural result of today's fast paced lifestyle. High blood pressure can be life threatening and the physical effects of stress can produce "'wear and tear" on your body and degenerate cells, which propel the aging process. Sleep helps to slow these effects and encourages a state of relaxation.
onstantly under pressure and sleep helps to reduce the levels of stress and inflammation in your body. High levels of "inflammatory markers" are linked to heart disease and strokes. Sleep can also help keep blood pressure and cholesterol levels (which play a role in heart disease) in check.
Sleep improves your memory.
That 'foggy' feeling that you struggle with when deprived of sleep makes it difficult to concentrate. This often leads to memory problems with facts, faces, lessons, or even conversations. Sleeping well eliminates these difficulties because, as you sleep, your brain is busy organizing and correlating memories.
One of the great benefits of sleep is that it allows your brain to better process new experiences and knowledge, increasing your understanding and retention. So, next time you hear someone say "why don't you sleep on it," take their advice.
Sleep helps control body weight issues.
Sleep helps regulate the hormones that affect and control your appetite. Studies have shown that when your body is deprived of sleep, the normal hormone balances are interrupted and your appetite increases. Unfortunately this increase in appetite doesn't lead to a craving for fruits and veggies. Rather, your body longs for foods high in calories, fats, and carbohydrates.
So, if you're trying to lose those stubborn few pounds that just keep hanging around, consider the benefits of sleep on weight control and make sure that getting enough sleep each day. For more information on sleep and body weight.
      Ultimately, there are many downfalls experienced when sleep is not prevalent. Life takes a grave turn for the worst quickly when it is unable to rejuvenate properly. In just a matter of days, the quality of life is altered when sleep is deprived. It is utterly an essential part of life, and there are many ways to try to achieve it; further more to enhance the state of rest you are entering. Proper sleep will absolutely boost your health, your mood, and the quality of your life. Face it, sleep it not a luxury; it is a necessity to staying alive.




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