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Sleep Is A Superpower
by Dr Lindsay Browning
Regularly getting a good night’s sleep is one of the best things that you can do for your overall health and wellbeing. Many people focus on things like nutrition and exercise when trying to look after themselves, but sleep is really your superpower.
Sleep is far from a waste of time. It’s a vital time when your body and brain recharge and prepare for the next day. Over time, consistently sacrificing sleep for other things is associated with an increased risk of problems such as dementia, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, stroke, anxiety and depression. In fact, poor sleep (very short or very long sleep duration) is associated with an all-cause increased mortality risk (Cappuccio et al, 2010).
As well as long-term poor quality sleep being associated with a whole host of negative health consequences, not prioritising sleep can harm your exercise and weight loss goals and impact your immune system. Also, in the short term, one night of sleep deprivation can have measurable consequences the next day, such as an increased risk of car accidents, poorer decision making, irritability, and low mood. If you prioritise your sleep, you’re likely to feel happier and healthier overall.
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Sleep for you immune system
One important role of sleep is that it’s linked with our immune system, since sleep is a key time when the immune system is regulated. One interesting study found that people who slept for less than seven hours were almost three times more likely to catch a cold after being exposed to the rhinovirus compared to people who slept for at least eight hours (Cohen et al, 2009). This suggests that regularly sacrificing sleep may leave us more vulnerable to everyday infections.
Sleep for your brain
Although we may appear inactive while we sleep,your brain is incredibly busy throughout the night regulating hormones,processing emotions and consolidating new skills and memories. Studies show that people who sleep (even just a short nap) after learning new information tend to remember it better than those who stay awake after learning, highlighting the need to sleep after learning in order to maximise recall (Diekelmann & Born, 2010).
Pulling an all nighter the night before an exam is rarely helpful, not only becausewithout sleep you won’t have the opportunity tostorethe information as efficiently as if you had slept after learning, but also because our brain needs to sleep for critical and logical thinking. One study found that when people stayed awake for 17-19 hours straight, their cognitive performance declined to the equivalent of a 0.05% blood alcohol concentration (Dawson & Reid, 1997). Practically, pulling an all-nighter before an exam may leave you performing at a level comparable to someone at the drink driving limit.
Sleeping well helps us to think more clearly, make decisions more quickly and cope with the challenges of a difficult day.
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Sleep for your emotional wellbeing
Getting enough good quality sleep is consistently associated with a reduced risk of depression and anxiety. In fact, sleep, anxiety and depression are closely linked, since someone who is anxious or depressed is more likely to have sleeping difficulties, and someone who is struggling with their sleep is more likely to feel anxious or depressed. When we don’t get a good night's sleep, brain imaging studies show that our amygdala (a brain region involved with emotional processing) becomes more reactive – making us less emotionally resilient and less able to deal with everyday stresses (Yoo et al., 2007).
Sleep procrastination is an issue becoming increasingly discussed where people go to bed with the intention of going to sleep on time, but find themselves scrolling through their phone or watching TV much later in bed because they want some me-time after a busy day. Although you might feel that spending some time watching your TV shows or catching up on social media after a busy day feels good at the time, the next day you may find yourself feeling tired and less resilient due to a lack of sleep. It’s similar to how we may end a busy day by eating biscuits and snacks on the sofa while watching TV, rather than choosing healthier foods and doing something positive or physically active, and then regret it the next day.
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Sleep for your physical performance
Top athletes are increasingly valuing and prioritising sleep, as the benefits include improved physical performance. Deliberately increasing sleep before a sporting event has been shown to improve stamina, accuracy, and physical performance, while increasing sleep after training can help with muscle repair and growth as well as with learning new skills (Mah et al., 2011). This is why elite athletes increasingly treat sleep as a performance tool, rather than simply recovery, investing time and energy in optimising sleep, like they do with nutrition and exercise.
The deeper parts of sleep (slow wave sleep) are associated with the release of growth hormone which is particularly important for muscle growth as well as physical growth in children. If you have children who don’t want to go to bed on time, you can encourage them by telling them if they want to grow, they need to get a good night’s sleep.
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Sleep for maintaining good weight
As well as affecting physical performance, getting a good night’s sleep is important for weight maintenance. During sleep, hormones involved in appetite regulation, including ghrelin and leptin, are regulated. Without enough sleep, levels of the hunger hormone (ghrelin) tend to rise, and the hormone levels for satiation (leptin) reduce, meaning people tend to eat more calories than well rested people. Poor sleep also influences the types of foods people choose, increasing the preference for fatty and sugary foods, rather than healthier choices (St-Onge et al., 2011). This is so important if people have weight loss goals but are not prioritising their sleep as well as their nutrition and exercise.
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Prioritise your sleep
Sleep is not lost time. It is an incredible time when your body and mind rest and recharge, making sleep one of the best investments you can make in your health and wellbeing. Allow yourself enough time to sleep (typically 7-9 hours of sleep) in a quiet, dark and cool (around 16-19C) bedroom with a comfortable mattress and pillow.
Whether your goal is to think more clearly, feel more energised, perform better or simply stay healthier, prioritising a good night's sleep can help you achieve your goals. Elite athletes and high performers are increasingly taking sleep seriously and recognising that it can give them a competitive advantage.
Most people can improve their chances of getting a good night’s sleep by creating a sleeping environment that supports it, prioritising enough time to sleep, and helping their mind and body prepare for sleep. This way you can give yourself the best opportunity to be the healthiest, happiest and most productive version of yourself by making the most of sleep’s superpower.
Let us help you unlock that best-sleep-ever feeling.
About Dr Lindsay Browning
Dr Lindsay Browning is And So To Bed's Sleep Ambassador, a chartered psychologist, neuroscientist and sleep expert with a doctorate in insomnia from the University of Oxford. Author of Navigating Sleeplessness, she specialises in evidence-based sleep advice and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), helping people achieve better sleep through expert guidance and practical advice.
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Posted by Dr Lindsay Browning
8th July 2026
