Four Simple Reasons You 

Need Sleep 

by ​Clara Brown​ on November 26 

If you think about the last time you had a hard time sleeping, you will 
probably recall how terrible you felt the next day. Your husband or 
friends probably commented that you just “woke up on the wrong side 
of the bed,” as you walked around either half asleep or grumpy, maybe 
both. Your kids probably commented on the bags under your eyes or 
your need for beauty sleep. This in itself will tell you that getting too 
little sleep is a problem. However, a bad day isn’t the only consequence 
of not getting enough sleep. 

Many different parts of your long term health are hurt when you don’t 
get enough sleep on a regular basis. 

 
 

1. Mental Wellbeing 

While many people assume that 

restlessness and lack of sleep is a 
symptom of mental health issues, 
science has come to show that mental health issues can actually arise 
from lack of sleep! In fact, people who get longer amounts of sleep tend 
to have lower levels of depression. When you do not sleep enough, your 
body is not able to physically handle stress and emotion due to 
hormonal imbalance. In addition to this, people who get more sleep feel 
better about themselves and are more satisfied with their lives. Getting 
enough sleep helps you to manage the emotions that come with long 
hours spent with naggings kiddos, parent-teacher conferences, and 
having to wait too long in the grocery check-out line. 

In other words, people who are well rested are more likely to be people 
who are happy! 

2. Short-term and Long-term 

Health 
Your immune system is directly affected by your 
sleep. Getting a full night of sleep allows your body 
to “reset” its defense system. Interfering with that 
by staying up to finish that soap opera can increase 
the likelihood of many illnesses, from colds to 
cardiovascular disease. This is especially important when you have 
young ones and germs can be found anywhere and everywhere! 

Get more sleep and you are much more likely to fight off those germs 
and win! 
 

3. Memory and Thinking 

When you go to sleep, your mind is allowed to 

rest and reset (just like your hormones and your 
immune system). Without interferences from the 
rush of the day, your brain can quite literally store information from the 
day to long-term memory. The next time you forget where you put 
your keys, consider, did you get enough sleep?  

In addition to this, sleep actually helps your ability to problem solve. 

Because you are able to store more into long-term memory, you are 
able to recall old information and process new information much more 
effectively. 

4. Weight Loss 

Believe it or not, sleep plays a 

vital role in your ability to lose 
weight and keep the weight 
off. During sleep, your body 
maintains hormone balances (the same process that helps with mental 
health). Some of these hormones help to regulate appetite. When you 
get too little sleep, these hormones are no longer present in standard 
amounts. In fact, hormones that cause you to be hungry are released 
excessively, while hormones that suppress hunger are lacking. 

Those midnight cravings for ice cream and potato chips are caused by 
the fact that you are up until midnight! Getting sleep avoids the 
temptation and helps to keep your appetite in check. 
 
Conclusion 
Being a full time Mom is difficult. Staying healthy and maintaining the 
lifestyle you want at the same time is even more difficult! But getting 
enough sleep each night is an easy way to contribute to your overall 
health and well being, inevitably contributing to your ability to be a 
better Mom! 
 
References 
 
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022395612002786 
 
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4340787/ 
 
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(17)30328-0/fulltext 
 
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07448481.2010.483708 
 
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4075951/ 
 
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4961463/ 
 
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12529-012-9272-z 
 
https://jeps.efpsa.org/articles/10.5334/jeps.434/ 
 
https://www.cogentoa.com/article/10.1080/23311908.2016.1168768 
 
https://www.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/physrev.00032.2012 
 
https://journals.tbzmed.ac.ir/RDME/Manuscript/RDME-6-29.pdf 
 
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389945718304106?via%3Dihub