A Must-Read: How Sleep Affects Your Health!

Sleep is a natural need of every human being. At the same time, it is one of the most underrated everyday activities. We often consider it as something unproductive and unnecessary, often not realizing how lack of slumber can affect our body. Learn about the most common causes of sleep deprivation and the health consequences of not getting enough sleep.

 

Why Do We Need Sleep?

Sleep is a state of physical rest when the muscles and nervous system regenerate. It is also the time when the processes of remembering and consolidating the knowledge acquired during the day take place (which is especially important at the stage of learning in children, adolescents or students). One can say that during sleep we undergo a whole body reset. This is especially important when fighting an illness. That is why more slumber time is advisable during recovery and may contribute to a faster recovery. During sleep we regain energy, vitality, and strength to take on new challenges.

 

How Much Sleep Does Our Body Need?

An adult person spends an average of 1/4 of their life on sleep, sleeping about 6 hours a day. This amount may not be enough. Scientists emphasize that in order for the body to fully regenerate, we should sleep for about 8 hours. We have to remember that what counts here is not only the number of hours we spend sleeping, but also the quality. As research shows, lazing in bed for too long can also have an adverse effect on your body.

 

Get to Know Your Inner Biological Clock 

Each person has their own internal biological clock which determines the individual circadian rhythm. Some go to sleep early and get up at dawn – this is the so-called early bird. Others, however, belonging to the owl type, go to bed well after midnight and would like to sleep until late in the afternoon. Some people feel sleepy after 8:00 p.m., while others can stay awake until 1:00 a.m. The point is to listen to your body and its needs. If you feel tired, go to sleep. You will certainly have more strength to work and act the next day. Our natural circadian rhythm is influenced by many factors, but light is crucial here. Your body, in response to light or lack of it, manages the internal clock by secreting appropriate hormones. Unfortunately, while in the past the night was “dark” and the day was “bright”, today we work night shifts in full lighting or scroll screens until late at night, thus disturbing natural biological processes. If you want to learn more about the influence of light on the circadian rhythm, have a look HERE.

 

Who Is Most Affected by the Problem of Sleeplessness?

Sleep disorders affect a large part of our society. Their occurrence is associated with modern lifestyle, stress, and work. However, a certain group of people is particularly susceptible to their occurrence. These include: women, the elderly, people with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

It is noteworthy that problems with falling asleep may occur after a very late and intense workout. Not all of you will have difficulty falling asleep after an evening training session, but remember that intense activity is a solid dose of endorphins and other hormones that buzz in our body and can cause, apart from a pleasant feeling of euphoria, also a problem with falling asleep. If you have the option of scheduling your training time, I recommend that your training session should be no later than 3 hours before bedtime, which will allow you to wind down in the evening and eat a light post-workout meal in good time.

 

Stimulants and Sleep

Do you try to fight drowsiness by using various stimulants? One of them is coffee. Thanks to the high caffeine content, coffee increases your wakefulness. Its effects are observed after 15-30 minutes. The average half-life of caffeine, i.e. its metabolism, and thus its effects in your body, is usually around 4 hours. Do not forget about other stimulating drinks such as tea or yerba mate. Both theine and mateine contained in these infusions have a similar, although slightly more delicate and prolonged effect in relation to caffeine.

Energy drinks are another product that, unfortunately, I am afraid is used more and more often not only by busy adults, but also teenagers and children. Energy drinks are products with a high caffeine content, definitely unsuitable for people under 18, but also often for us adults. Remember that these drinks contain significant amounts of sugar or artificial sweeteners, phosphates and huge amounts of food additives that can not only irritate the stomach, but also negatively affect the functioning of the body or bacterial flora in the intestines.

Alcohol can have a two-way effect on sleep. In healthy people, small doses of alcohol can make it easier to fall asleep, while alcohol abuse can lead to problems with falling asleep. Remember that alcohol is bad for your health and should never be considered a sleep aid.

Smoking cigarettes also disturbs the sleep process. Nicotine can reduce sleep and cause problems with falling asleep.

In addition, the conditions in which you live, including excess light and noise levels, can also have an adverse effect on falling asleep. Watching TV in the evening, browsing the phone or scrolling the screen can also make it difficult to fall asleep and disrupt the production of melatonin – the hormone that regulates your circadian clock.

 

What Can Lack of Sleep Cause?

Sleep deprivation is a huge threat to your health. Lack of sleep reduces the overall physical fitness of the body, reducing work efficiency. It contributes to road accidents as much as alcohol and drugs. Too few hours of sleep can result in excessive daytime sleepiness, problems with concentration and memory, impaired judgment, slower reactions and an increase in errors. Lack of sleep can also cause excessive irritability and the development of depression.

Lack of sleep can also increase the risk of developing many diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. On the other hand, patients with type 2 diabetes have a higher incidence of obstructive sleep apnea, i.e. cessation of breathing or its shallowing during sleep. Repeated episodes of sleep apnea can lead to fatigue, concentration problems, high blood pressure, and in extreme cases, to sudden death. At the same time, more and more scientific reports emphasize that lack of sleep may increase susceptibility to developing infections. In contrast, increasing the duration of sleep during an infection increases the likelihood of a faster recovery.

 

Sleep and Obesity

Lack of sleep can be both a cause and a consequence of being overweight or obese. Too little or poor quality sleep adversely affects our metabolism. Too short sleep leads to a decrease in the level of leptin, a hormone that reduces our appetite, and at the same time increases the level of ghrelin, which stimulates appetite. Studies show that people who sleep 7 hours a night, compared to those who sleep 5 hours a night, have a 15% lower risk of developing excess body weight. Every extra hour of sleep reduces the risk of obesity by 30%. Restricting sleep to 4 hours a day increases the tendency to consume foods with high energy density and high carbohydrate content, such as: sweets. Ironically, too much sleep is also a risk factor for developing excess body weight.

I hope that I have convinced you how negatively sleep deprivation can affect our body. Take care of the right quality and length of sleep and check how quickly you will notice an improvement in your health and well-being.

 

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