THE HEALTH HAZARDS OF INSUFFICIENT SLEEP

Research has shown that we need to get at least 7 hours of slumber every night. But as many as one in three Americans often sleep for less than 6 hours, a trend that can have severe health ramifications.

A night where you sleep poorly can leave you feeling unmotivated and at the same time cranky. You may be too exhausted to work efficiently, to eat healthfully, or even go for a normal exercise. And on a longer period of time, continuous insufficient sleep raises the risk for a number of chronic health issues, which include obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.

In addition, insufficient sleep can leave you more vulnerable to mental health issues like depression and anxiety. There are more proofs that show that insufficient sleep makes your body to be more prone to the common cold supposing that you are exposed to the cold virus.

In some cases though not often, insufficient sleep can be more dangerous. A sleep shortfall can result to daytime drowsiness and micro sleeps. Micro sleeps are short bouts of sleep that happen during the day that often take a few seconds. Supposing that you have ever shortly nodded off while sitting through either a lecture or a meeting, you have experienced a micro sleep. They often last a few seconds, precisely between 10 to 15 seconds and it could pose a big danger while you are driving.

It should be noted that during a micro sleep, your brain does not feel or respond to any sound or noise and you don’t react to stuffs happening close to you. People do not judge rightly when the micro sleep occur and they don’t seem to prevent it and this as resulted to many fatal accidents in the past.

Studies have shown that one of twenty four American drivers fall asleep while driving at least once in a month. The National Department of Transportation (NDT) estimates that every year, drowsy driving is responsible for more than 1,500 fatalities and 40,000 non fatal injuries in the United States.

As we all know, insufficient sleep can make you foggy and grumpy. Apart from what you saw above, there are many surprising things that insufficient sleep might lead to.

OTHER HEALTH EFFECTS OF LACK OF SLEEP

1. LACK OF SLEEP CAN LEAD TO SEVERE HEALTH ISSUES

Insufficient sleep and chronic sleep loss can put you at risk for; heart disease, heart attack, heart failure, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, stroke and diabetes. in addition, according to some studies, 90 percent of people with insomnia (a sleep disorder characterised by trouble falling and staying asleep) have another health condition.

2. INSUFFICIENT SLEEP AGES YOUR SKIN

Majority of us have experienced sallow skin and puffy eyes after having a few nights of poor sleep. But it shows us that insufficient sleep can result to lacklustre skin, dark circles, fine lines under the eyes.

When you do not get enough sleep, your body releases more of the stress hormone cortisol. And when it’s too much, cortisol can break down skin collagen (the protein that keeps skin smooth and elastic).

Also, insufficient sleep causes the body to release too little human growth hormone. When we were young, human development hormone enhances growth. As we get older, it aids increase muscle mass, thicken skin and strengthen bones. It is during sleep that growth hormone is released by patching the wear and tear of the day.

3. INSUFFICIENT SLEEP MAY INCREASE THE RISK OF DEATH

Some British researchers made a research at how sleep patterns affected the mortality of more than ten thousand British civil servants over the last 20 years. The results, published more than a decade ago, precisely 2007, showed that people who had cut their sleep from 7 hours to 5 hours or fewer every night nearly doubled their risk of death from different causes. Precisely, insufficient sleep doubled the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

4. INSUFFICIENT SLEEP CAN MAKE YOU GAIN WEIGHT

When it comes to a person being overweight, it may be that if you snooze, you lose. Insufficient sleep seems to be associated to an increase in hunger or appetite, and probably obesity. A study in 2004 says that people who do not get the right amount of sleep, precisely less than 6 hours a day were almost 30 percent likelier to become obese than people who slept for 7 to 9 hours.

In addition, recent research has concentrated on the connection between sleep and the peptides that control appetite. Two hormones are responsible for that, the ghrelin stimulates hunger while the leptin signals satiety to the brain and puts pressure on the appetite. So, short amount of sleep is related with decreases in leptin and elevations in ghrelin.

5. INSUFFICIENT SLEEP CAUSES ACCIDENTS

Insufficient sleep was a big factor in some of the biggest disasters in our history. Most recent accidents include the 1979 nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, the 1986 nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl, the massive Exxon Valdez oil spill and many others.

Insufficient sleep is a big public safety hazard every day on the road. Drowsiness can slow reaction time just like as you are getting drunk. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that fatigue is the cause in more than 100,000 auto crashes and more than 1,500 crash related deaths every year in the United States. The issue is greatest among individuals under the age of 25.

In conclusion, the question for you and I is how do you combat insufficient sleep? But the best solution is to figure out how many hours of sleep is best for you and then stick to it, including weekends, vacations or holidays. In addition, basic lifestyle changes that enhance sleep can also support. Doing exercise, preventing caffeine, and practicing good sleep hygiene are some of the best ways to get the right sleep you need.