Looks like mother was right – 8 hours of sleep is essential for all adults.
In today’s culture, people brag about being able to function on only 4 hours of sleep. They dose their bodies with caffeine filled energy drinks, and run around with overbooked calendars boasting on how little sleep they need.
But as it turns out, not sleeping 8 hours a night can have devastating effects on the body that are irreversible.
Most Americans know they should probably sleep more, but don’t understand the seriousness of the short and long term effects lack of sleep can have on the body.
The Cleveland Clinic has long studied the lack of sleep and how it hurts both children and adults.
And in a recent report, The Cleveland Clinic revealed the short-term problems of sleep deprivation.
The Cleveland Clinic reports:
“Your doctor urges you to get enough sleep for good reason, Dr. Walia says. Shorting yourself on shut-eye has a negative impact on your health in many ways:
Short-term problems can include:
“Lack of alertness: Even missing as little as 1.5 hours can have an impact, research shows.
Impaired memory: Lack of sleep can affect your ability to think and to remember and process information.
Relationship stress: It can make you feel moody, and you can become more likely to have conflicts with others.
Quality of life: You may become less likely to participate in normal daily activities or to exercise.
Greater likelihood for car accidents: Drowsy driving accounts for thousands of crashes, injuries and fatalities each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
If you continue to operate without enough sleep, you may see more long-term and serious health problems. Some of the most serious potential problems associated with chronic sleep deprivation are high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, heart failure or stroke.”
All of these problems can be avoided by simply getting 8 hours of sleep.
Not sleeping 8 hours a night can also lead to obesity.
At night, the body doesn’t need as many calories, and is recharging for the next day. But by not sleeping, your brain releases chemicals signaling to the body it’s hungry.
By overeating, (and typically craving unhealthy carbs), you will begin to pack on the pounds.
Healthline.com reports:
“Researchers conducting a study of almost 5,000 Japanese adults with type 2 diabetes found that those who slept fewer than 4.5 hours or more than 8.5 hours had a higher body mass index (BMI) and higher A1C values. An A1C is a measurement of a person’s average blood sugar levels over the course of three months. Those who slept between 6.5 and 7.4 hours a night had the lowest A1C levels of all the participants.”
Our bodies work hard, and they need rest. By not getting enough sleep, every single area of the body suffers.
But sleeping too much can also have negative health effects.
The same health problems can occur by sleep more than 8 hours each night.
Have trouble sleeping?
Try going to bed and getting up at the same time each day. A consistent sleep schedule gets your body into a healthy rhythm.
Make sure to put away electronics at least 2 hours before bedtime, as the “blue light” from your screens can interrupt your body’s natural rhythm, and make it difficult to fall asleep.
How many hours of sleep do you get each night? What ways do you plan to schedule more sleep into your day?
Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.