We have always heard that the key to a healthy life is to sleep at least 8 hours every night. However, have you ever wonder why?

Modern life is chaotic and forces us to find time for work engagements, taking care of our family, staying in touch with our friends, exercising, eating healthy, and getting enough sleep.

Also, if you are a mother, your small children crying in the middle of the night, being always sleep-deprived to get them to school, and looking after their needs and engagements during the day hinder even more your opportunities to catch up with your sleep.

We all wish the day had more than 24 hours to be able to do everything we need to do, and still have time to sleep enough to wake up the next day full of energy.  

However, daily responsibilities, concerns, and complications restrict your resting hours, and sometimes you feel lucky if you slept 5 or 6 uninterrupted hours. In fact, only 7% of the population sleeps at least 8 hours every night.

Consequences of not Sleeping Enough

What happens to your body if you don´t sleep at least 8 hours every night? According to different studies, these are the consequences of resting too little:

• The risk of suffering breast cancer increases 200%.
• It doubles the possibility of suffering a heart attack.
• Not sleeping one night affects your performance as much as having a high blood pressure  level.
• Sleep deprivation increases 20% the probability of dying in the next 20 years.

Benefits of Sleeping 8 Hours Every Night

On the other hand, you should know the benefits you can enjoy if you give yourself enough time to rest 8 hours every night and how these benefits can reflect on your attitude and looks.

• You look more attractive, thanks to your cells regenerating more easily, and your skin looks smoother and brighter. And not to mention the disappearance of dark circles and puffiness around the eyes.
• You look thinner, because sleep deprivation causes fat accumulation and generates ghrelin, the hormone that stimulates your appetite.
• It helps you prevent diseases such as obesity, and hypertension, and helps your immune system fight infections.
• It improves mental agility because it doubles your ability to find innovative solutions to difficult problems.
• Sleeping more increases your empathy.

Tips for Sleeping More

Even if you are aware of the benefits of sleeping 8 hours every night and the consequences of not doing so, you still need to know how you are going to get the time to achieve it. These are some health and beauty tips that can help you rest better:

• Once it gets dark, avoid looking at cold lights and colors, because they are accomplices of sleep deprivation. If your phone has it, activate the night mode.
• If you suffer from insomnia, meditate.
• Do not underestimate the power of a comfortable bed and pillows.
• Leave your phone out of your reach.
• Lay on your bed, turn off your lights, close your eyes, and try to remain awake. You will see that you will fall asleep quickly.