A 2006 Harvard study found that 75% of people had sleep difficulties a few times a week. If tossing and turning is part of your nightly ritual, this may not come as a surprise to you. While occasional insomnia is typically nothing to lose sleep over (pun intended), chronic sleep loss can contribute to various health problems.

Six Reasons To Get Enough Sleep:

1. Disease: Sleep deprivation suppresses the body’s immune functions and may leave you more susceptible to getting sick. Keeping up with sleep may even help with fighting cancer
2. Learning and memory: Sleep helps the brain commit new information to memory. Studies conducted showed that people who’d slept after learning a task did better on their tests later.
3. Metabolism and weight: Chronic sleep deprivation affects the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates, as well as impacting the hormone levels that affect our appetite. All of this may result in weight gain.
4. Safety: A lack of sleep leads to a greater chance of falling asleep during the day. Alarming mistakes such as road accidents, medical errors, and air traffic mishaps, can all be attributed to sleep deprivation.
5. Mood: A loss of sleep may lead to moodiness, irritability, impatience, and inability to concentrate. Lack of sleep may also leave you without the energy for the activities that make you happy.
6. Cardiovascular health: Studies have linked hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and an irregular heartbeat to serious sleep loss.

Epstein, L. (2010). Improving sleep: a guide to a good night’s rest. Boston: Harvard Health Publications.