Sleep Deprivation Can Make You Ill
Do you think that sleep is a waste of your time? Are you quietly proud of your ability to survive on just a few hours sleep a night? Maybe you even see sleep as a weakness to be overcome?
I have to tell straight up, you are very mistaken. Sleep deprivation is so dangerous that it can even kill you. It isn’t a waste of time to sleep it is simply a fact of life. We must sleep.
If you have built up a chronic sleep debt over several weeks you are suffering from a dangerous sleep deprivation problem. Studies show that there are many problems associated with this. Here are a just a few of them:
-Lack of sleep can shorten your life. Death from all causes is lowest among adults who get seven to eight hours of sleep nightly, and significantly higher among those who sleep less than seven.
-Your immune system takes a battering when you are sleep deprived. Subjects allowed only 4 hours sleep for a six night period were infected with flu virus. Their immune system produced half the number of white cells it normally would in response to this attack.
Wow that means their chance of fighting off the bug was half what it should have been! Sleep deprivation could kill you if you came in contact with a serious infection. Also in that study:
a) Heart rate and blood pressure were raised.
b) Insulin resistance, a pre-diabetic condition that affects glucose tolerance and produces weight gain, developed.
c) A reduction of the hormone Leptin that inhibits appetite. This is one reason why obesity can be the result of sleep deprivation.
-Intellectual performance and the ability to think critically is severely reduced.
-Reaction time is reduced. You may think you are just as sharp as ever but so does the drunk driver. Its impossible to know how many accidents have been caused by sleep deprivation. Don’t add to them.
Serious accidents happen every day and many are caused by sleep deprivation. Do you recall the Exon Valldize? It was thought at first that it was caused by alcohol, but later sleep deprivation was considered to be the main cause.
Nowadays few responsible people would get behind the wheel of a car after a drinking session, but we still think nothing of driving when completely worn out and lacking sleep. People take a 24 hour plane ride to the other hemisphere, hop off the plane and into a hire car in which they drive on an unfamiliar side of the road for several hours. I am sure you don’t want to meet them on the road.
Do you think that you should try to get enough sleep now? No matter how busy your day its vital to make time for sleep too. Your performance will improve and so will your health. Wit fewer sick days and less exhaustion you will easily make up for the time you “lose” by sleeping.
Insomnia is a problem for many people today and it is usually caused by stress and anxiety. If this is you its important that you learn how to relax. Basic sleep hygiene is also very important.
