World Sleep Day: Know When is World Sleep Day is Celebrated?
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World Sleep Day: History, Significance, Slogan
We all know that a proper amount of sleep is just as important as having a balanced diet for a healthy lifestyle. Sleep is an effective medicine that helps you have a healthy life and saves you from a lot of physical and mental distress. After a long, tiring day, all you need is a good night’s sleep.
Sleep deprivation can put a person into some serious trouble later on. One may think that the main motive behind celebrating world sleep day is to celebrate the benefits of sleep and a healthy lifestyle, but there are more reasons behind the celebration. This day is also celebrated to spread awareness against the harmful health issues caused by lack of sleep.
Significance of World Sleep Day
As previously mentioned, a person must get 7-9 hours of sleep each day to maintain a proper lifestyle. However, most people often tend to neglect sleep for days due to several reasons. One of the most common reasons is often working pressure.
Even though one may not see much of a difference by staying up for one night, the trouble begins when it becomes a habit. Inadequate sleep affects our mood negatively and can be the reason behind heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other health issues. Plus, it can also lead to depression, skin ageing, unhealthy weight gain, loss of memory, etc.
Did you know that making sleep deprivation a habit can lead to various sleep disorders such as snoring, sleep apnea, insomnia, restless legs syndrome, parasomnias, sleep paralysis, and more? In fact, some of these disorders still have no cure. Therefore, the only way to prevent these from occurring is to maintain a healthy sleep cycle. The significance of world sleep day lies in educating people about the importance of regular sleep for improved health and the prevention of sleep disorders.
History of World Sleep Day
The idea of celebrating world sleep day globally was brought up by the World Sleep Society back in 2008. The day is observed on the Friday before the Spring Vernal Equinox in March. This awareness event was started by some dedicated healthcare experts and medical community members working in the field of sleep medicine.
The co-chairs of the first-ever world sleep day were Liborio Parrino, Associate Professor of Neurology at Parma University, and Antonio Culebras, Professor of Neurology at Upstate Medical University. Each year, there’s a new slogan for this event. The slogan focuses on spreading the benefits of regular sleep and highlights how good sleep can allow one to lead a better life.
How can we celebrate World Sleep Day?
We can celebrate World Sleep Day by following certain rules, such as maintaining a regular sleep schedule, having a light meal and avoiding spicy or sugary food as well as caffeine before bedtime, using comfortable bedding, etc. Such tips provided by the World Sleep Society should be followed all year long to maintain a healthy sleep cycle.
Which disorders are caused by lack of sleep?
Lack of proper sleep can cause insomnia, snoring, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, parasomnias, sleep paralysis, etc.
What was the first-ever slogan for World Sleep Day?
World Sleep Day was celebrated for the first time in 2008, and the slogan was ‘Sleep Well, Live Fully Awake’.