Sleep aids are formulated to help people overcome occasional episodes of insomnia so they can get a good night’s rest.
Most non-prescription sleep aids utilize natural ingredients known to promote drowsiness, including melatonin.
The benefits of a good night sleep are many but our team of experts has whittled the list down to the following dozen and a half.
18 Benefits Of Sleep Aids
Sleep aids help people overcome insomnia so that they can meet the new day refreshed. Here are the 18 most important benefits of sleep aids.
1: A sleep aid can help you get to sleep fast.
Obviously, this is the number 1 reason people buy and use sleep aids. Lying awake, trying to get to sleep, knowing you have an important meeting or appointment in the morning, is one of the worst feelings you can have. As each minute passes, the pressure to get to sleep builds and builds. A good sleep aid will help prevent this type of thing from happening.
2: A sleep aid can smooth out rough patches in your sleep cycle.
Sometimes things occur out of the blue that can disrupt a person’s sleep cycle (1). Maybe there’s a family crisis, or perhaps a natural disaster. Or it could be something as common as jet lag. But whatever the cause, a sleep aid can help smooth over these occasional rough patches so that they don’t develop into a more serious sleep disorder.
3: A sleep aid can help save your job.
Sleep deprivation (2) can cause a lack of concentration, delayed reaction times, forgetfulness, poor decision making and more. None of those are conducive to getting ahead on the job. In fact, many of them are grounds for termination. If you work with heavy equipment, delayed reaction times can lead to serious accidents. A sleep aid can help prevent these things and save your job.
4: A sleep aid can help those working night shifts.
People who work night shifts often complain of difficulty sleeping. And it’s no wonder why. When they get home in the morning the sun is just coming up. Their internal clock tells them it’s time to get up, not go to sleep. A sleep aid can help a night shift worker get the restful sleep they need.
5: A modern sleep aid is safer than those in the past.
In the past, there few regulations dictating what could and couldn’t go into a sleep aid product. The result was not good. Many people became physically addicted to sleep aids, which caused catastrophic damage to their overall quality of life. Today’s OTC sleep aids do not contain any known addictive substances.
6: A sleep aid can help save your relationship.
Insomnia can have a profound effect on mood (3). That, in turn, can make someone a far from ideal partner. People get short-tempered, intolerant, rude, and surly when they’re always tired. And few are the relationships that will withstand that for very long. You can’t un-say things you say when you’re grumpy and sleep-deprived. A better course of action is to use a sleep aid and not say them.
7: A sleep aid helps reduce stress.
Sleeplessness is incredibly stressful on both body (4) and mind. The body needs to produce excess amounts of adrenaline to keep functioning (5) and the brain never quite gets into a groove. A sleep aid can help you get the rest you need to avoid subjecting your body to undue amounts of stress and strain.
8: A sleep aid can help improve your memory.
Sleeplessness can also have a profound effect on the way the brain functions. When we can’t sleep, one of the most heavily impacted brain functions is memory. We forget things we need to do, problem-solving suffers, and we don’t remember what co-workers or loved ones told us. A sleep aid can help you get the sleep you need so that none of these scenarios come to pass.
9: A sleep aid can help maintain your circadian rhythms.
Circadian rhythms (6) is a blanket term used to describe the still vague mechanism we call our internal clock. No one is exactly sure how this internal clock works, but there is no denying its existence. And no denying that disruptions to sleep can cause disruptions to this internal clock. A good sleep aid will help prevent your circadian rhythms from being thrown out of whack.
10: A sleep aid can help you keep the weight off.
Evidence strongly suggests a link between sleep deprivation and obesity (7). The hormones most responsible for appetite – leptin and ghrelin – are negatively affected by sleeplessness. As a result, they may cause hormonal imbalances that, in turn, trigger the urge to eat. A sleep aid can ensure a good night’s sleep and allow you to maintain a healthy weight.
11: A sleep aid can fend off depression.
Fatigue has been shown to interfere with serotonin production (8). Serotonin is important for regulating mood and keeping us upbeat and positive. Conversely, a lack of serotonin can cause depression in some people. One of the best ways to prevent a lack of serotonin from causing depression is to get enough sleep. A sleep aid can help you do that.
12: A sleep aid can help prevent high blood pressure.
Getting enough sleep reduces your risk of developing high blood pressure (9). The exact mechanism by which blood pressure is affected by fatigue is extremely complex. At the same time, however, both scientific and anecdotal evidence is clear: a lack of sleep often results in elevated blood pressure. A sleep aid can help prevent scenarios where high blood pressure might develop.
13: A sleep aid can improve your concentration.
Every college student who ever lived knows that when you’re tired, it’s hard to concentrate in class. That lack of concentration also applies to a person’s professional life. In a professional setting, it can affect problem-solving, risk assessment, and strategic thinking and undermine a person’s career arc. A sleep aid will allow you to get the sleep you need to think straight.
14: A sleep aid can make you a safer driver.
The CDC estimates that fatigue causes as many as 6,000 road fatalities per year in the US. It’s true (10). And it’s pretty appalling reality to contemplate. A sleep aid can help you get the sleep you need so that you don’t become a statistic, or turn some innocent third party into a tragic statistic.
15: A sleep aid can help reduce your risk of heart disease.
The fact that a lack of sleep can cause a rise in blood pressure indicates how dangerous it is for your heart. There is also evidence to suggest fatigue can negatively affect insulin regulation. That can lead to elevated blood sugars and, down the line, diabetes. An effective sleep aid can help reduce these risks by allowing you to get the right amount of sleep.
16: A sleep aid can help you maintain healthy skin.
Research indicates there is a direct correlation between a lack of sleep and skin damage (11). Being tired all the time undermines the production of collagen. That, in turn, undermines both the appearance and overall health of the skin. That shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who has looked in the mirror after getting just a few hours of fitful sleep.
17: A sleep aid can make you more productive.
It also shouldn’t be any surprise that tired people seek out easy tasks. But just in case proof was necessary a study was conducted that confirmed it (12). It turns out sleep-deprived individuals consciously seek easy things to do. While those who’ve had plenty of sleep take on challenges and just get more done. Two things that bosses tend to like a lot.
18: A sleep aid enables better overall health.
Finally, the ultimate benefit of sleep aids is that they allow you to get the sleep you need so you can enjoy better all-around health. All of the bullets you’ll dodge by getting enough sleep, combined with how physically good you’ll feel and mentally alert you’ll be, will result in a higher quality of life and enhanced health. So if you’re having trouble getting to sleep, consider taking a sleep aid and put your troubles to rest.
Conclusion
Sleep aids can help people adjust to changes in their work schedule, they can help reduce stress levels, they can help fend of bouts of depression, improve your concentration, ensure you drive safely and help you look and feel better. If you are having trouble sleeping a non-prescription sleep aid may be just the thing to get you back on track.