Whether you love to sneak off for an afternoon nap or you’re guilty of snoozing the alarm each morning, it turns out that you’re actually doing your body an abundance of favours.

Here are some of the key benefits to getting those 40 winks:

Repairs muscles

When you think about building muscle mass, the first thing that possibly comes to mind is pumping iron. Next, you perhaps think about nutrition – drinking all those protein shakes and eating all that meat…but you’ve probably neglected to consider the importance of sleep. 

After an intense workout, your muscles have lots of mini tears. These tears must be repaired for your muscle tissue to grow.

When you’re sleeping, your body is able to complete the cycles of repair and recovery that are necessary. So essentially, no sleep means no gains. 

Encourage better eating choices

When you’re tired and feeling run down, it’s very tempting to snack and overeat.

Why?

Because the hormones that regular appetite (ghrelin and leptin) are disrupted by a lack of sleep.

So, if you’re watching your weight, getting enough sleep on a regular basis will help you to curb cravings and temptations.

Healthier mind

Still not convinced that getting an early night is worthwhile? Let’s change that.

Mental health and depression are knowingly worsened by lack of sleep. What’s more? Research shows that sleeping allows the body to rebalance the chemicals/hormones that affect your mental clarity, your emotions and your overall mood.

Ensuring you're sleeping correctly is one of the best ways to improve mental health.

Provide energy

When you get enough sleep, you tend to wake up full of beans. Why? Because sleep provides a period where your body can fully rest.

With a well-rested body, you’ll have extra energy and as a result, you’ll feel more alert. This means that you can perform your day to day tasks more effectively – whether you’re driving, working, or going to college. What’s more? In terms of your fitness journey, you’ll have more energy for workouts, meaning that you’ll be more likely to push yourself to your limits and really break a sweat.

So it turns out that sleep is the best medicine …go and get counting sheep!