Good night, sleep tight.

Not getting enough sleep does more than make you irritable, sluggish and foggy, but why?
 1. Sleep Keeps Your Heart Healthy
Lack of sleep has been associated with worsening of blood pressure and cholesterol, all risk factors for heart disease and stroke. 
2. Sleep May Prevent Cancer
Light exposure reduces the level of melatonin, a hormone that both makes us sleepy and is thought to protect against cancer. Melatonin appears to suppress the growth of tumors. 
3. Sleep Reduces Stress
When your body is sleep deficient, it goes into a state of stress. The body's functions are put on high alert which causes an increase in blood pressure and a production of stress hormones.  
4. Sleep Reduces Inflammation
The increase in stress hormones raises the level of inflammation in your body, also creating more risk for heart-related conditions, as well as cancer and diabetes. 
5. Sleep Makes You More Alert
Of course, a good night's sleep makes you feel energized and alert the next day. Being engaged and active not only feels great, it increases your chances for another good night's sleep. 
6. Sleep Bolsters Your Memory
While your body may be resting, your brain is busy processing your day, making connections between events, sensory input, feelings and memories. Your dreams and deep sleep are an important time for your brain to make memories and links.
7. Sleep May Help You Lose Weight
It is thought that the lack of sleep impacts the balance of hormones: ghrelin and leptin, important for the regulation of appetite, have been found to be disrupted by lack of sleep. Sleeping less may affect changes in a person's basal metabolic rate (the number of calories you burn when you rest). 
Inadequate sleep interferes with the body's ability to metabolize carbohydrates and causes high blood levels of glucose, which leads to higher insulin levels and greater body-fat storage. This can also lead to insulin resistance and contribute to increased risk of diabetes.
8. Naps Make You Smarter
Napping during the day is not only an effective and refreshing alternative to caffeine, it can also protect your health and make you more productive. People who take a nap at work have much lower levels of stress. (On their break time - don't get caught napping on the job!) Napping also improves memory, cognitive function and mood.
9. Sleep May Reduce Your Risk for Depression
Sleep impacts many of the chemicals in your body, including serotonin. People with a deficiency in serotonin are more likely to suffer from depression. 
10. Sleep Helps the Body Make Repairs
Sleep is a time for your body to repair damage caused by stress, ultraviolet rays and other harmful exposures. Your cells produce more protein while you are sleeping. These protein molecules form the building blocks for cells, allowing them to repair damage.


How much sleep do you need?
How much sleep we need depends on what is happening in our bodies. The rapid growth of infancy (16 hrs), youth (10-14 hrs) and adolescence (9hrs) also the demands on the body during pregnancy (9+ hrs in 1st trimester) mean more sleep. Contrary to the common sleep myth, older adults need just as much sleep as younger ones (7 to 9 hrs). Here is a list of sleep needs by group:


Note:
A person should be alert and awake throughout the day. Some signs that you are not getting enough quality sleep include: Feeling tired during the day, Falling asleep within 5 minutes of lying down, Experiencing “microsleeps” or brief “nodding off” episodes


Sleep Quality and Sleep Quantity
If you find that you are not getting enough sleep, there are two things to look at: the amount of time you spend sleeping and the quality of your sleep.
Sleep Time: If you spend less than 7 hours in bed (asleep) each night, you will most likely have a sleep deficit. You could also be spending enough time in bed, but have trouble falling asleep quickly. Learning good sleep habits can help you fall asleep faster and get more sleep in the same amount of time.
Sleep Quality: If your sleep is interrupted, if you wake up several times a night or if you toss and turn, your sleep quality may be poor. You need two kinds of sleep each night – deep sleep (sleep stage 3 and 4), which makes you feel refreshed, and REM sleep, which we don’t fully understand, but we know you need it. Developing better sleep habits can help with sleep quality.