Why we need Sleep
Sleep is defined as: slumber (a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended) by Wordnet.princeton.edu
That’s sounds quite accurate, but sleep is also essential for health and well-being, not just a rest time. It is a time where the body heals and rejuvenates for the next 24 hours. It is generally accepted that human beings require between 7 to 9 hours of sleep each day for optimum functioning.
Simply by observing your own ability to function over the period of a couple weeks, is a good indicator of how essential quality sleep is for optimum life enjoyment. On the days where your sleep was interrupted, or for a shorter period, you will usually note that you didn’t function as well on those days.
You may be more irritable, may require more caffeine to get through the day. You may experience difficult concentrating and experience tiredness and lethargy, especially in the afternoon.
Common sense tells us, that getting adequate, quality sleep is essential for our health and for the enjoyment of our lives.