It is widely supported that sleep is vital in leading a healthy lifestyle. Many people still sleep less than the recommended number of hours, though. It may not seem that much to those who cut off their sleeping time for their personal endeavors, but sleep is something that you can ignore.

There are many reasons why sleep is important, most of it pertaining to our health and personal well-being. Our body needs to rest and charge up, after all. Sleeping gives the body that needed energy and reorganization of thoughts and physical functions.

1. Less sleep can make you fatter. It was discovered that those who sleep for less than seven hours tend to be fatter or more obese. This is because insufficient sleep appears to disturb our hunger hormones. Less sleep can lower leptin (hormone that suppresses appetite and speeds up metabolism) and increase ghrelin (which stimulates appetite).

2. Less sleep makes you eat food that is bad for your heath. This is especially applicable to people suffering from sleep apnea. One reason for the sleeping illness they have is because of a diet that is very high in cholesterol, protein, total fat, and total saturated fat.

3. Less sleep can make you likely to have diabetes. People who sleep five or fewer hours of sleep were found to be twice more likely to have the illness.

4. Less sleep makes you more prone to heart attacks. A study back in 2003 discovered that heart attacks were more likely with those who sleep for five hours or fewer than with those who sleep more. Less sleep also contributes to an increase in blood pressure.

5. Less sleep ticks off your balance. This is understandable. Less sleep makes your body disoriented that it would not be able to function properly. Take note that accidents can happen when your body takes a fall or you get drowsy while driving.

6. Less sleep makes you more prone to depression. Sleep helps in relaxing our emotions and reorganizing our thoughts. Sleeping in less than the recommended number of hours is not enough, and will make you prone to worries and distress. This could lead to behavioral issues like ADHD, especially in children who suffer from lack of sleep.

7. Less sleep shortens your life span. There have been many studies about this, and they all discovered that those who sleep less than five hours every night have greater risk of dying early.

There have been lots of studies and information that promote the need for a nice complete sleep. This recommendation is not a rootless conclusion. A lot of our daily activities are affected by how much sleep we can get.

The reasons stated on why sleep is important are credible enough for us to take sleep seriously, despite our fast and hardworking lifestyle. People today are concerned on what they do when they are up and awake that they dismiss sleep as a waste of time sometimes. This should not be the case, as sleep gives a lot of benefits for our body and our health.