Therapeutic Value of A good Night's Sleep

Sound Medical Data

Medical data confirms that sleep has a therapeutic value. Data validates that warmth speeds relaxation, relieves tension, soothes sore muscles, makes falling asleep easier, and provides longer periods of relaxed sleep with less movement. Heat supplied from heating pads, electric blankets, and electric mattress pads helps to eliminate morning stiffness, and in some cases, the need for pain medications has been reduced when heat therapy is used.

The Value of Sleep

Sleep is often lost in a tradeoff for recreational fun or heavy workloads. Lack of sleep has been linked to weak immune systems, poor heart health, and periods of depression linked to suicidal tendencies. Lack of sleep can cause stroke, heart attack, and epileptic seizures. Going 18 hours without sleep causes the brain to react the same way it does at the legal level of intoxication.

Health issues contribute to the amount of sleep required. The average adult functions well on 7-8 hours of sleep, though some prefer as few as 5 hours and as many as 10 hours of sleep. Ideally, adolescents should sleep 8-9.5 hours per day, school-age children, 10 hours, and preschool children 10-12 hours. Sleep deficiency can contribute to behavior and learning problems, high blood pressure, increased stress hormones, altered glucose levels and increased appetite, stored body fat, lack of coordination, and a decrease in auditory and visual response times.

Simple Solutions

Sleep patterns in children can often be corrected by cutting sugar and caffeine from their diets, increasing physical activities, decreasing couch potato time, and setting guidelines for bedtimes. Sleep can be restored to active teens and adults who incur injuries by applying heat in the form of a heating pad while awake, and an electric mattress pad while asleep. Sleep is forfeited as senior citizens age - electric blankets and electric mattress pads can relax the body and restore the quality of sleep.