Australian sleep expert Prof. D Hillman said sleep, like diet and exercise, is key to healthy living.
One who lacks sleep experiences quality problems in thought processing, decision making, vigilance, reaction times and mood.
Lack of sleep lets all ingredients in a happy, healthy life slip away. “Productivity, safety and wellbeing suffer as do other aspects of quality of life,” Hillman said.
“Apart from its restorative function, sleep is a time where there is a lot of information processing going on: memories are consolidated, lessons drawn from the day’s experiences and redundant material edited out. Problems are worked on. Hence, the brain is busy in ways that are different to wakefulness but essential to optimal wakeful function.”
Hillman said everyone should think about their sleep habits because sleep is an important health investment regardless of age. And habits cultivated at a young age stay with us forever.