The Benefits of Healthy Sleep
by Cheng Wing Yan (4H)
What’s the key to getting a good night’s sleep? If you have thought about this issue, then you have chosen the right article. In this article, we will inform you about sleep health.
1) How Much Sleep Should We Be Getting?
One third of a person’s life is spent sleeping. Here we will show you the list of the sleeping time on your age.
Recommended Sleep Time According to Age
2) What’s the Best Sleeping Position?
Sleeping position has a big impact on health. The correct sleeping position is sleeping on the right side, here are the reasons why.
Photo from Health 2.0
a) It’s good for digestion
Lying on the right side is especially suitable for children. Due to the imperfect function of the baby's digestive tract, the cardia is loose and the pylorus is tight, the phenomenon of "intestinal esophageal reflux" is prone to occur. The right decubitus position is good for food to enter the duodenum for digestion. In addition, the right side position allows more blood to enter the liver, thereby enhancing liver metabolism and detoxification.
b) It’s good for the heart
The heart is located on the left side of the chest cavity so sleeping on your right puts less pressure on the heart, thereby reducing the burden on the heart, which is beneficial to sleep and health.
c) It rests the brain
Lying on the right side allows the muscles of the whole body to relax to the maximum, and the blood is unobstructed, which is easy to achieve the purpose of eliminating fatigue and getting enough rest.
3) The Benefits of Getting Enough Sleep
a) Improve the body’s immunity
The proliferation and activity of human immune cells (lymphocytes, white blood cells, B cells, etc.) will be greatly reduced due to lack of sleep. A study by a specialized agency in the United States has found that if a person only rests for 6 hours for three consecutive days, their immunity is reduced to only 20% of the original remains.
b) Improve intelligence
For the human brain to think clearly and respond quickly, it must have enough sleep. If a person experiences a long-term lack of sleep and their brain cannot get enough rest, it will affect the brain's creative thinking and ability to process things.
c) The best way to beautify
The reason why human skin is soft and shiny is that it relies on the capillaries of the subcutaneous tissue to provide adequate nutrition. Insufficient sleep can cause skin capillary stasis and blocked circulation, so that skin cells cannot get adequate nutrition, which affects skin metabolism, accelerates skin aging, and makes skin appear dull and pale.