What Is Sleep?

“It’s a basic necessity of life, as important to our health and well-being as air, food and water. When we sleep well, we wake up feeling refreshed, alert and ready to face daily challenges. When we don’t, every part of our lives can suffer.” The National Sleep Foundation

Sleep is a hugely important part of all our lives, affecting our health and well-being, moods and emotions, marriages and jobs. But although we’ll spend about a third of our lifetime asleep, many of us know very little about it.

Sleep is vital for life, like food or water, and although it seems as though there’s not much going on when we’re asleep, the body hasn’t shut down; in fact some of the body’s systems are more active during sleep than when you’re awake.

The brain is the organ most in need of sleep:

• This is the time the brain gets to do its desk tidying, known as ‘memory consolidation’. The brain needs to sort through the information it’s accumulated, in order to make sense of the day.
• Related to this activity, the brain continues to process tasks during sleep.
• Sleep is also involved in emotionally dealing with the experiences of the day.

When we sleep, hormones vital for growth and repair are released into the body by the brain.

The immune system also needs sleep:

• Sleep stimulates the production of immune cells from bone marrow. This builds our immunity which protects us against illness. Hence why we need sleep and rest when we’re ill.

Sleep also provides our body with the chance to recuperate from the stresses and strains of the day.