The old term "beauty rest" had more meaning than you might think. Your body needs sleep to help rejuvenate itself and restore the damage done to it during the day. Getting a good night's sleep is essential to your health.

If you’re not getting enough sleep each night not only are you tired during the following day but you also increase your risk of having a fall or an accident, you diminish your ability to concentrate on daily tasks and you become increasingly irritable. Those factors can affect your social life as well as emotions and decision making capabilities which could affect your professional life as well.

The amount of sleep you get also affects your immune system, without enough sleep you are more susceptible to infections and diseases. If you deprive your body of the sleep it needs for too long it could lead to obesity, diabetes, and other more serious health problems. Sleeping too much can also lead to the same health problems so it is important to get the right amount of sleep.

How do you know when you're getting enough sleep? Each of us has different needs when it comes to the amount of sleep we get. You can tell if you are not getting enough sleep by your performance during the day. Take notice of how much difficulty you have waking up in the mornings. Are you becoming increasingly clumsy? Do you have difficulty making decisions? Do you fall asleep during work or class or have difficulty staying awake while there? If you answer yes to any of these questions then it is quite likely you are not getting enough sleep. To determine how much sleep you need you should consider your age, your level of daily activity, whether or not you are pregnant, and the quality of sleep you get each night. For most adults seven to eight hours of sleep each night are usually sufficient.

You should also be sleeping the same amount of hours consistently. It is not a good idea to miss sleep all week and then sleep in on the weekends to make up for it. Your body will be healthiest if you adhere to a consistent sleep schedule. Don't get discouraged if sometimes you wind up sleeping more or less. Your body has an internal clock that tells it how much sleep you need. If you had a particularly busy day and go to bed exhausted you may need a little more sleep just as decreased activity levels could cause you to sleep less. It is important to pay attention to the clues your body gives you so you will know if you are getting the sleep you need.

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