You may sleep well at night, but the sole fact that you can fall asleep does not mean that you get the best night's sleep. There are different types of sleep, and during the night you go through different sleep stages. But if you don't sleep right, you may not go through all the sleep stages during your sleep. Thus, your body and mind will not recover to their full potential.

The good news is that you can do a lot to make sure that your sleep is a quality sleep.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SLEEP?

You spend around a third of your life asleep. If you add all the time you spend sleeping, you'll find that you doze for decades. People have studied and been fascinated by sleep for centuries. Most people associate their night slumber with relaxation, health and unwinding from stress, and that is pretty much correct.

While you are asleep the body switches to “stand-by”. The muscles relax and your breathing and pulse slow down. Your energy reserves are recharged and your nervous and immune systems recover from the stresses and strains of the day. Deep inside your brain chemicals are secreted which switch the brain into a different mode.

During sleep the part of your brain that controls emotions, memory, mood, social interaction and even speech and decision making also recovers from the strains of waking life. Therefore sleep provides your mind and body the vital and welcome rest it needs.

If you don’t get enough good quality sleep you will have difficulties waking up, and suffer from lack of concentration and feelings of moodiness, irritability and anxiety. Sustained sleep deprivation can also lead to metabolic problems associated with serious conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity.