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Nutrition

Evidence Based5 Reasons to Get More Sleep

Medically reviewed by Meir Kryger, MD, FRCP(C) — Written by Joe Leech, MS — Updated on January 16, 2025

Weight management
Support brain health
Enhance exercise
Heart health
Stabilize emotions
Takeaway

Regularly sleeping less than you need at night can put your health and safety at risk, which is why it’s essential that you prioritize and protect your sleep daily.

Getting a good night’s sleep is incredibly important for your health. In fact, it’s just as important as eating a balanced, nutritious diet and exercising. Most people need 7 to 9 hours.

Here are five reasons why getting more sleep can help support your body and mind.

1. May help you maintain or lose weight

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently recommends that adults get 7 or more hours of sleep per night.

A 2020 analysis found that adults who slept fewer than 7 hours per night had a 41% increased risk of developing obesity. Meanwhile, sleeping longer didn’t increase the risk.

The effect of sleep on weight gain is believed to be affected by numerous factors, including hormones and motivation to exercise.

For instance, sleep deprivation increases levels of ghrelin and decreases levels of leptin. Ghrelin is a hormone that makes us feel hungry while leptin makes us feel full. This may cause us to feel hungrier and overeat.

This is supported by a 2020 study that has shown that sleep-deprived individuals have a bigger appetite and tend to eat more calories.

What’s more, to compensate for lack of energy, sleep deprivation may make you crave foods that are higher in sugar and fat due to their higher calorie content.

2. May improve concentration and productivity

Cognition, concentration, productivity, and performance are all negatively affected by sleep deprivation.

A 2020 study involving overworked physicians provides a good example. It found that doctors with moderate, high, and very high sleep-related impairment were 54%, 96%, and 97%, respectively, more likely to report clinically significant medical errors.

On a similar note, getting enough sleep can improve academic performance in children, adolescents, and young adults.

Finally, good sleep has been shown to improve problem-solving skills and performance in both children and adults.

3. May maximize athletic performance

Adequate sleep can enhance fine motor skills, reaction time, muscular power, muscular endurance, and problem-solving skills.

What’s more, lack of sleep may increase your risk of injury and lower your motivation to exercise.

So, getting enough sleep may be just the thing you need to take your performance to the next level.

4. May strengthen your heart

Low sleep quality and duration may increase your risk of developing heart disease.

One analysis of 19 studies found that sleeping fewer than 7 hours per day resulted in a 13% increased risk of death from heart disease.

What’s more, short sleep appears to increase the risk of high blood pressure, especially in those with obstructive sleep apnea — a condition characterized by interrupted breathing during sleep.

5. May affect emotions and social interactions

When we’re tired, we have a harder time managing emotional outbursts and other behaviors in front of others. Tiredness may also affect our ability to respond to humor and show empathy. When we haven’t slept enough, we may be grumpy and irritable.

Plus, a loss of sleep may result in less engagement in social activities due to decreased motivation, and when social experiences do occur, it may be more difficult to foster positive emotions and feelings of connectedness.

If you live with loneliness or emotional outbursts, don’t be afraid to reach out to a friend, family member, or healthcare professional to get support.

The takeaway

Along with nutrition and exercise, quality sleep is one of the pillars of health. The American Heart Association has called it one of Life’s Essential 8.

Though individual needs vary, most research suggests that you should get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night for optimal health.

Just like you prioritize your diet and physical activity, it’s time to give sleep the attention it deserves.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

About sleep. (2024).https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about/index.html
Bacaro V, et al. (2020). Sleep duration and obesity in adulthood: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32527625/
Besedovsky L, et al. (2019). The sleep-immune crosstalk in health and disease.https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/physrev.00010.2018
Charest J, et al. (2020). Sleep and athletic performance: Impacts on physical performance, mental performance, injury risk and recovery, and mental health.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32005349/
Cooper CB, et al. (2018). Sleep deprivation and obesity in adults: A brief narrative review.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30364557/
Dai C, et al. (2020). Effects of sleep deprivation on working memory: Change in functional connectivity between the dorsal attention, default mode, and fronto-parietal networks.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33192381/
Ding C, et al. (2018). Sleep and obesity. .https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6489488/
Dorrian A, et al. (2019). Self-regulation and social behavior during sleep deprivation.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0079612319300408?via%3Dihub
Hudson AN, et al. (2020). Sleep deprivation, vigilant attention, and brain function: a review.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31176308/
Krittanawong C, et al. (2019). Association between short and long sleep durations and cardiovascular outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29206050/
Miller MA, et al. (2023). Sleep and cardiovascular disease.https://portlandpress.com/emergtoplifesci/article/7/5/457/233822/Sleep-and-cardiovascular-disease
Makarem N, et al. (2021). Effect of sleep disturbances on blood pressure.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33611935/
Okano K, et al. (2019). Sleep quality, duration, and consistency are associated with better academic performance in college students.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6773696/
Palmer CA, et al. (2022). Sleep restriction reduces positive social emotions and desire to connect with others.https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/46/6/zsac265/6798913?login=false
Trockel MT, at al. (2020). Assessment of physician sleep and wellness, burnout, and clinically significant medical errors.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33284339/
Vitale KC, et al. (2020). Sleep hygiene for optimizing recovery in athletes: Review and recommendations.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6988893/
Yang CL, et al. (2019). Increased hunger, food cravings, food reward, and portion size selection after sleep curtailment in women without obesity.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30893841/

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Evidence Based

This article is based on scientific evidence, written by experts and fact checked by experts.

Our team of licensed nutritionists and dietitians strive to be objective, unbiased, honest and to present both sides of the argument.

This article contains scientific references. The numbers in the parentheses (1, 2, 3) are clickable links to peer-reviewed scientific papers.

Medically reviewed by Meir Kryger, MD, FRCP(C) — Written by Joe Leech, MS — Updated on January 16, 2025

10 Top Benefits Of Getting More Sleep - Healthline

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Nutrition

1. May help you maintain or lose weight

2. May improve concentration and productivity

3. May maximize athletic performance

4. May strengthen your heart

5. May affect emotions and social interactions

The takeaway

How we reviewed this article:

Evidence Based

More in Sleep Apnea from Diagnosis to Treatment

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