Why is sleep important

Learn about the different phases of sleep and what they mean, why sleep is so important to your overall health and what happens if you don’t get enough of it.

To understand why sleep is important, think of your body like a factory that performs a number of vital functions. As you drift off to sleep, your body begins its night-shift work:

Healing damaged cells

Boosting your immune system

Recovering from the day’s activities

Recharging your heart and cardiovascular system for the next day

We all know the value of sleeping well, and we’ve all experienced the feeling of being refreshed after a good night’s sleep – and the feeling of fatigue after a poor night’s sleep. But even though we know this, in our busy society, many of us are not getting the quality sleep needed to truly receive the health benefits of sleep.