Question: why is sleep so important ?

Hayley Moulding answered on 14 Mar 2016:

You have some great questions about sleep!! So, I will tell you a bit why it is very important!! Sleep is really really important because it helps us to make memories, it helps us to stay well and not ill, and it also helps us to get rest! We sleep to go over memories of the day, and allow our brains to work out what we need to remember and what we need to forget – what will help us and what might not help us. During our sleep is also the time where a growth hormone is released. This means that we grow during our sleep. It doesn’t mean though that if we have extra sleep we will grow more, but it can mean that if someone has lack of sleep, they may have changes in how they grow. We also have lots of chemicals released that help us stay healthy during sleep too. Sleep also allows us to maintain our attention the next day. Has anyone ever said to you ‘sleep on it – it will be better in the morning’ when you are upset about something? Sleep is also really important as it allows us to think things over and be less emotional in the morning about things we are upset about before bedtime. We also sleep to clean up our brains! We have been doing a lot during the day and sometime there are some chemicals which need to be got rid of. We sleep to make sure all the chemicals are at the right concentration in our brains! Another brill question about sleep. I really enjoy these questions.