The Importance of Sleep Part I: Your Health
How much sleep are you getting per night? I get about 7 or 8 hours of sleep per night because I know I need it and health is a priority for me. Experts say that for health and overall effectiveness in life, 7 to 8 hours for adults is recommended.
Many people I know are not getting this much sleep and based on what I’ve seen and read recently, this lack of sleep may be affecting your health, your brain capacity and your effectiveness at work.
Why do humans need so much sleep?
There is no clear answer which is resulting in a variety of sleep studies all over the world to determine how it affects brain function, your work and your health.
Recently on 60 Minutes, there was a segment on the Science of Sleep and it fascinated me. Lesley Stahl interviewed a variety of researchers including Eve Van Cauter of the University of Chicago School of Medicine. Van Cauter is conducting a series of studies on the effects of sleep and the body. She is finding that those who are sleep deprived (getting less than the recommended 7 or 8 hours and/or are facing interrupted REM or deep sleep) are at a greater risk for:
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Health problems typically associated with old age
Yikes. Her research is showing 2 primary reasons why this is happening:
- Lack of sleep is lowering levels of the hormone leptin, which tells your brain when the body is full. Without it the brain says “keep eating” and people feel more hungry.
- The body is unable to metabolize sugar effectively
She suggests that a healthy living prescription not only includes proper nutrition and exercise, but sleep as well. Van Cauter also comments that humans are the only mammals who sleep deprive themselves, and biologically the body is reading this as stress. While the studies are being conducted with adults, she claims that children, specifically teens are among the most sleep deprived, requiring 9 or 10 hours per night and only getting around 6.
Sleep studies conducted around the world have also linked lack of sleep to high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
There are many factors that may contribute to the lack of sleep - including increased responsibilities at home, working longer hours, your diet and stress to name a few.
I’ve heard it before, needing to get 8 hours of sleep, though I’ve never heard any data to back it up. In the society we live in it seems sometimes “less is more” especially when it comes to sleep. I hear people brag all of the time about how they don’t need a lot of sleep and they manage just fine. Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate that.
Resources and Additional Information
The Big Sleep Show, Chicago area, May 2008 (focus on sleep and work)
What are your sleeping habits? What keeps you up at night? How are you managing it?
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