5 Surprising Benefits of Sleep

Some of the positive effects of sleep are obvious and well-known, such as helping you feel refreshed, helping you concentrate, preventing irritability and reducing unsightly under eye bags and dark under eye circles. In addition to the obvious, there are many other health benefits of a good night's sleep you probably didn't know. Researchers are constantly trying to uncover the pros of getting enough sleep. Here are some intriguing reasons why you should get consistent shut-eye:

Sleep prevents the sniffles: A study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, revealed that people who sleep less than five hours a night are almost three times more likely to develop a cold or other infection when compared to those who sleep eight or more hours.

Improves your workout: Better sleep improves your motivation and ups your stamina so you'll get a better workout. When you're functioning on little sleep, you're more likely to shorten your exercise routine or skip it.

Prevents you from overeating: the hunger triggering hormone ghrelin and the hunger-suppressing hormone leptin are adversely affected when don't get enough sleep, leading to feeling hungrier and overeating. Also, when you're tired, you're more likely to give in to eating high-fat, high-sugar foods.

Helps control migraines: Any migraine sufferer can tell you experiencing multiple migraines can be debilitating. Among the migraine triggers, sleep deprivation tops the list. A migraine study test performed in South Korean found that women who increased the amount of sleep each night suffered decreased migraines.

Boosts your creativity: Studies show that after a good night of sleep, people experience greater creativity levels than when they're tired. In addition, sleeping helps to clear the mind and help you make better decisions. The popular adage, "sleep on it," reflects this idea.