Sleep has an enormous effect on our mental health. A huge fraction of our day is spent sprawled out, eyes shut, and useless to the world. Children and toddlers often revolt against going to sleep, but as they grow older, they always want more.
Sleep is essential to our core functioning.
Even if we know that intuitively, it’s still easy to underestimate sleep’s importance. According to the Center for Disease Control, a third of Americans don’t get enough sleep. A lack of sleep leads to a truckload of bad medical results, like getting sick more often, obesity, and more rapidly aging skin.
There are serious mental health consequences, too. Sleep deprivation has been used as a form of torture because of how profoundly a person can be affected. Even if you’re losing an hour or two each night, the cumulative effect can be destructive. continue reading…