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According to experts, sleep plays a vital role in patient health and well-being. That being said, getting a good quality sleep every night can assist with protecting physical health, mental state, quality of life, and even safety. This is why good sleep is absolutely essential. Deficiencies in good quality sleep can cause immediate danger like accidents, long- term health problems, slower reactions, disrupted functions, deficiencies with learning, and poor interactions with others. Here is some additional information from Dr. Bell about how sleep can impact patients.
How Sleep Effects Brain Function
Brain studies show that a good night’s sleep improves learning, helps enhance learning processes and assists in the development of problem-solving skills. Sleep also lets you pay attention better, make important decisions and be more creative. While patients sleep, the brain is repairing itself, building memories, forming new pathways, preparing to help learn new things, and remembering information for the following day. This shows why sleep is so critical.
Sleep Deficiencies Can Actually Damage The Brain
Just as quality sleep can assist the brain, sleep deficiency can actually alter parts of your brain. Patients with sleep deficiencies often have trouble making decisions, controlling emotions, problem-solving, and coping with change. Additionally, sleep problems have been linked to depression, anxiety, altered behavior, and suicide.
Problems With Sleep Can Create Problems With Overall Health
Surprisingly, getting the proper amount of sleep plays an important role in your physical health. Sleep helps heal and repair heart and blood vessels. This is why long- term sleep deficiency has been associated with an increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, and even strokes. Getting adequate sleep each night helps curb these problems and get patients back to better health.
Poor Sleep Can Impact Weight
If you are looking to maintain your weight or lose some, look to your sleep. Sleep helps the body maintain balanced hormones. It helps these hormones tell your body to feel hungry or full at proper times. When patients do not get enough sleep, hormone levels can fluctuate, causing increased hunger or fullness at the wrong times. Sleep also affects how your body reacts to insulin, and can result in a higher blood sugar levels. This can in turn increase the risk for diabetes.
Sleep Effects Growth & Development
Good sleep patterns support growth and development in both adults and children. Accordingly, healthy sleep tells your body to release the hormones that promote body and brain growth. Proper sleep allows for growth of muscle and helps repair healthy tissues in children, teens and adults. Sleep also plays a critical role in puberty, male and female fertility, as well as good immune system function.
Good Sleep Can Impact Your Safety & Performance
Good quality sleep in adequate amounts helps you function properly throughout the day. People who do not get the right amount of sleep take longer to finish their tasks, are less productive, are slower to react, and make more mistakes at school and work.
Sleep Deficiency Can Be Dangerous
For people who though sleep deficiency was a minor problem, think again. Studies have actually shown that driving while tired can be just as dangerous as driving drunk. Moreover, driving tired causes more than 100,000 car accidents each year and over 1,500 deaths. This means that everyone including health care workers, pilots, lawyers, mechanics, students, and assembly line workers can cause major damage to co-workers and others around them if they do not get adequate sleep each night.
Get Your Sleep Checked
Many of our patients have no clue that they are sleep deficient. This is why it is so important to get regular medical check-ups and monitor your daily sleep habits. Knowing the symptoms of sleep deficiency or asking your partner if they notice a difference in your sleep can help determine if you need to see a specialist. So don’t put the people around you at risk, see a doctor if you have questions, about your sleep. Sometimes the solution to your sleep problems is simple and quick. Either way, knowing that you have a sleep problem is the first step in solving that problem and getting back to healthy sleep.
Come See Dr. Bell For Help With Your Sleep Apnea Issues
Sleep apnea can have negative effects on your health, safety, and wellness. Sleep problems can also impact your spouse and those around you, so do not wait to get checked out. York Dental Sleep Therapy has many effective solutions for your sleep apnea symptoms. If you live in the Hallam, PA area and have questions about sleep issues or sleep apnea treatment, please call our office now for a no-obligation consultation.