This content is provided by Mandala Wellness

Many of us at least one time think about “Why do we need sleep?”, or “Why do our bodies automatically get sleepy at night?”. Simple questions but it does explain a lot about our well-being.

Why do we need sleep?

I used to think that sleeping is when our bodies begin to rest and relax. But recently I just found out that I was wrong the whole time. According to the page National Sleep Foundation, sleeping is when our bodies most active to function, do important processes, restore and strengthen the tissues and hormones. The researchers also found out that after we sleep we tend to “retain information and perform better on memory tasks”.

They also states that, during our sleep, our bodies experience 4 stages:

Stage 1 - Light sleep

I think this is when we are in the middle of being awake and asleep. We could be easily awaken by the surroundings like very small little noises.

Stage 2 - Onset of sleep

At this stage, our bodies starts to disengage with the surroundings; it becomes less sensitive with the external activities. The body's temperature begins to drop.

Stage 3 & 4 - Deep sleep

When we reach this point, our blood pressure also starts to drop; we breathe slower. The tissues are getting to be repaired; muscles are relaxed. The energy is restored. Simply this is when your body starts healing and building from the damages during your whole tiring day.

How much sleep do we need to a better well-being?

For the above to happen effectively, we - adults - need at least 7 - 9 hours of sleep everyday. The younger the more hours of sleep they need for the hormones to be released and grow during the night.