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Sleep is a necessity, not a luxury. It determines
the quality of our waking life. If you are getting less than the right
amount of sleep for your mind and body to perform well during the
day, you are sleep deprived. For most people, the right amount of
sleep is eight hours per night.
According to experts 70% of the population is sleep deprived. We're
not spending quality time in the important stages of deep sleep. These
stages are essential to heal and repair the human body, as well as
the mind, for peak performance the next day. You need to stop depriving
yourself of the quality sleep you need, and you'll wake up refreshed
and rejuvenated. |
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You might not know if you're sleep deprived.
If you answer "yes" to 3 of these questions, you are sleep
deprived:
• Need an alarm clock to wake up?
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Struggle to get out of bed in the morning?
• Hit the snooze
button weekday mornings?
• Tired, irritable and stressed
out at work?
• Trouble concentrating and remembering?
• Slow critical thinking, problem solving, creativity?
• Often fall asleep watching TV?
• Fall asleep in
boring meetings, lectures, warm rooms?
• Fall asleep after
heavy meals or low doses of alcohol?
• Often fall asleep
when relaxing after dinner?
• Fall asleep within 5 minutes
of going to bed?
• Often feel drowsy when driving?
• Sleep extra hours on weekend mornings?
• Often
need a nap to get through the day? |
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| Not getting an adequate amount of sleep can lead to
cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes. If you average less
than 6 hours of sleep per night, your resistance to viral infection
is lowered by about 50% over those getting 8 or more hours. Expect
more colds and flu and respiratory tract infections. Luckily, the
process is quickly reversible. Even if you didn't get enough sleep
on a given night, the immune system will be back in action as soon
as you repay that sleep. |
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70% of the population
is sleep deprived
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Your body goes through cycles of sleep every
night. During each cycle, the time you spend in each of the 4 stages
of sleep changes. This cycle repeats itself every 90 minutes until
you wake up. Depending on the length of time you sleep, you will travel
through four to five cycles during the night. Sleep becomes lighter
as we approach morning and dreams become longer. During the last quartile
of an 8-hour night, Stages 2 sleep and REM or Rapid Eye Movement Sleep,
wherein most dreams occur predominate. These stages play a major role
in organizing and reorganizing the mind, concentration, mood, productivity,
creativity and critical problem solving, and athletic ability.
When it comes to sleep, quantity and quality are important. Remember
that you should spend 1/3 of your life asleep. It's vital you make
the most of it. Sleep experts agree: Most people need 8 hours of sleep,
but even 6 hours of continuous sleep is more restorative than 8 hours
of interrupted sleep. So stop depriving yourself and get some rest.
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| Sleep is necessary for our bodies to build
up energy reserves and regenerate body cells and tissues. During sleep,
your heartbeat and breathing slow, growth hormones peak, muscles relax,
and your body temperature lowers. Sleep is a sophisticated process
carefully regulated by our brain with valuable restorative properties
for our physical and mental health. |
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| Short-term sleep deprivation usually causes
little physical harm, since the body compensates for the lack of sleep
by increasing its adrenaline levels during the day. A person may experience
temporary feelings of pessimism or negativity. However, even short-term
sleep deprivation can be dangerous if driving a car or operating machinery.
Sleep deprivation is thought to cause half of all traffic fatalities
on U.S. highways. In fact, studies have shown that being forced to
stay awake 17 to 19 hours can cause the same impaired abilities as
having a 0.05 percent blood alcohol content. |
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Irregular sleep patterns and lack of
sleep can bring on short attention span, memory and vocabulary loss,
and other symptoms. Complication can include obesity, premature
aging, fatigue and increased risk for diabetes, infection, cardiovascular
disease and gastrointestinal disease. Chronic sleep deprivation
can even lead to paranoia or hallucinations.
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