The Importance of Sleeping and Staying Active

Cause and Effect: Healthy Life

There are many ways in which humans can choose to live healthier. Two key behaviors of a healthy lifestyle are getting enough sleep and adequately exercising (Voelker, 2016). Our bodies need rest to rejuvenate and if an individual does not get enough sleep, their bodies will thus slowly show health related problems. Furthermore, when individuals are sedentary, they tend to have related health problems due to that sedentary lifestyle. Our bodies must remain active, but we also need our rest to heal and promote healthy function of our bodies. This paper will discuss the cause and effects of both sleep deprivation and lack of exercise. It will further discuss the benefits associated with the opposite of these.

The medical risks and issues are somewhat difficult to determine based solely on sleep deprivation or inadequate sleep cycles. Medical conditions associated with inadequate amounts of sleep are often also attributed to other health issues and are sometimes slow to develop (Sanna, 2017). Studies have, however, shown that individuals who sleep less than eight hours a night on a regular basis are more likely to develop other health related problems such as weight gain, diabetes, heart issues, lack of energy, and a lowered immune response. “One study found that people who slept fewer than six hours per night on a regular basis were much more likely to have excess body weight, while people who slept an average of eight hours per night had the lowest relative body fat of the study group” (Sanna, 2017). Studies have also shown that individuals that have even the slightest modification in sleep cycles, such as sleeping six or seven hours a night have an increased risk of heart issues and coronary blockages (Voelker, 2016). Lack of sleep also contributes to the body being unable to rejuvenate itself and the immune system is thus weaker in those that do not get at least eight hours of sleep. Although getting enough sleep is no guarantee of perfect help; sleep alongside other healthy behaviors and lifestyles contribute significantly to longevity, energy, and overall wellbeing. Many of our body’s restorative actions occur while we rest. They are not able to occur otherwise

A sedentary lifestyle is also very unhealthy. It is important to stay active in our daily lives. Staying active is not necessarily going to the gym or running marathons. When a body is not active enough, our bodies are unable to metabolize the food we eat and turn it into necessary energy and nutrients for the body to heal itself, fight off illness and disease, and clean out toxins. If a body is unable to clean out toxins and rid a body of unnecessary waste, fat, and calories, individuals will develop clogged arteries, disease, illness, and many other health issues that not only make life and movement difficult, but will likely eventually kill an individual. If a person stays active, they will experience the benefits of having a clean healthy body as well as a stronger immune system and more energy. Just as adequate sleep is one of many healthy habits that one needs to adopt, so is staying active.

Our bodies are much like machines that must be maintained adequately to keep running properly. Two of these very important maintenance processes are sleeping eight or more hours a night and staying active. If we do these along with other healthy habits such as proper eating and drinking plenty of water, our quality of life will overall be much better. Sleep and activity will overall boost energy, immune systems, and metabolism. Failure to follow healthy behaviors and lifestyles will likely be one’s demise.