National Sleep Day 2022

Sleep is an essential function that allows your body and mind to recharge, leaving you refreshed and alert when you wake up. Healthy sleep also helps the body remain healthy and stave off diseases. Without enough sleep, the brain cannot function properly. This can impair your abilities2 to concentrate, think clearly, and process memories.

History of Festival of Sleep Day

We’ve been enjoying forty winks ever since the human race came into existence, but we haven’t always understood it. Early speculation by the Ancient Greeks about the reason for sleep was that it is due to lack of circulation, causing the body to become unconscious for a period of time while it re balanced. Theorists were divided at first on whether this was due to the brain or the heart, which were known to be the two most important organs.

Back then, sleep was separated into a first and second sleep of the day, instead of the single long stretch we enjoy today. In the interlude between sleep, people would socialize and relax. This routine stayed the same for centuries but was disrupted by the Industrial Revolution and the invention of artificial light, which allowed for a longer working day and therefore pushed together the periods of sleep. The socializing section of the day was moved to before bed instead.

Eight Hour Rule

The desire for success in the newly industrialized world would eat into the sleeping time of many workers and business people, as it continues to do today. A new regulation was introduced by Ford in 1926. When it became the first American company to provide employees with a fixed schedule of an eight-hour working day and a 40-hour working week, allowing those on the payroll to get to bed on time

Festival of Sleep Day is a modern-day celebration. Supposedly invented to help us recharge our batteries from all the lost sleep around the festive season at the end of the year. It reminds us to practice self-care for the coming year. Take advantage of the numerous benefits of a good night’s sleep.

Benefits of Good Sleep

Good sleepers tend to eat fewer calories. Studies show that sleep-deprived individuals have a bigger appetite and tend to eat more calories. Sleep deprivation disrupts the daily fluctuations in appetite hormones and is believed to cause poor appetite regulation. This includes higher levels of ghrelin. The hormone that stimulates appetite, and reduced levels of leptin, the hormone that suppresses appetite.

Good sleep can improve concentration and productivity

Sleep is important for various aspects of brain function. This includes cognition, concentration, productivity, and performance (7Trusted Source). All of these are negatively affected by sleep deprivation. A study on medical interns provides a good example.

Interns on a traditional schedule with extended work hours of more than 24 hours made 36% more serious medical errors than interns on a schedule that allowed more sleep

Poor sleep is linked to depression

Mental health issues, such as depression, are strongly linked to poor sleep quality and sleeping disorders. It’s been estimated that 90% of people with depression complain about sleep quality (21Trusted Source). Poor sleep is even associated with an increased risk of death by suicide (22Trusted Source).

Those with sleeping disorders like insomnia or obstructive sleep apnea also report significantly higher rates of depression than those without.

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