Time to get some sleep

CEBU, Philippines – It's been a very long series of holidays in Cebu. The count starts with the yuletide season until the just concluded Sinulog festivities. It's not really over yet, though; the Sinulog fever usually lingers a few days more.

There are still going to be potshots of events related to the Fiesta Senor. Of course, business establishments - for one - will take advantage to the presence of visitors that want to explore the city life some more. On the religious side, there are still going to be fiesta-related activities at the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño. As the experience in the past years, visitors who come to the city for the fiesta celebrations would stay around for a few days to a week afterwards.

The locals are mostly getting back to normal. The night outs will have lessened significantly, if not ceased altogether - for now at least. It's time to get some sleep.

And it's a good thing to do at this time. People who had been night owls for the past month or so now need to compensate for the lost sleep. Sleep is essential for one's good health and wellbeing - for both physical and mental health, as well as the overall quality of life, even for one's safety.

It's not only the length of sleep time that matters - but the quality of sleep as well. How the person feels upon waking up depends in part on what happens during his sleep. There are proper times for sleep to be really restful.

During sleep, the body works to support healthy brain function and the maintenance of physical health. It is often thought that sleep is more important for young children and teens. It is true, because sleep also helps support growth and development. But the general truth is that everyone needs enough sleep.

Older people tend to have shorter sleep time. They are late to go to bed and early to get up. But the fewer hours of sleep is probably just what they need, so long as they feel refreshed and recharged upon waking up. Many old people, though, take several catnaps during the course of the day, perhaps to add to their ideal sleep time.

While lack of sleep can have its long-term health risks, it can also pose immediate damage. There are things that one does that can be too dangerous and requires keen presence of mind - like driving or operating machinery. And the grogginess that often results from lack of sleep gets in the way of one's consciousness.

There have been terrible road accidents caused by a driver's "sleeping on the wheel." The same damage also occurs at factories, among machine operators. Mere seconds of passing out due to sleepiness could cost a life and a limb.

Of course, habitual sleep deficiency can bring on chronic health problems. According to the website www.nhlbi.nih.gov, it can affect how well a person thinks, reacts, works, learns, and gets along with others.

When a person becomes sleepy it's the body giving the signal that it needs to halt from the grinds of the day - to recharge, to replenish dwindling energy levels. If such signal is ignored - especially if habitually - the body soon begins to break down. It's like a car that's forced to run without fuel.

Sleep is very important indeed. It's worrisome that many people think they can get away with not getting enough sleep. They think so because they don't experience immediate damage - but sleep deficiency takes its toll for sure.