Sleep plays an important role in your physical health. For example, sleep is involved in healing and repair of your heart and blood vessels. Ongoing sleep deficiency is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke. What happens when we sleep? The body gets a chance to repair and restore itself. If it does not have enough time to do this over the long-term (chronically), then stress hormones and other inflammatory factors are released, as the body begins to react as if it were under chronic stress (which, without enough sleep, it is). One of the main players in terms of stress hormones is cortisol, which is released in response to chronic stress. Your body and your brain need sleep.
Though no one is exactly sure what work the brain does when you’re sleeping, some scientists think that the brain sorts through and stores information, replaces chemicals, and solves problems while you snooze. Most kids between 5 and 12 get about 9.5 hours a night, but experts agree that most need 10 or 11 hours each night. Sleep is an individual thing and some kids need more than others.Sleep is essential for a person’s health and well-being, according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF). Yet millions of people do not get enough sleep and many suffer from lack of sleep.
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