Showing posts with label Sleep Deprivation And What It Could Do To You. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sleep Deprivation And What It Could Do To You. Show all posts

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Do You Really Need 8-Hour Sleep Every Day?

Are you going to be in deep trouble, is your health going to be impacted if you sleep less than eight hours everyday? Doctors and health practitioners believed so but the fact of the matter is that in today's fast paced stressful environment, more than often it is not possible to do so.

Nowadays and I am sure not just me but the majority of adults go to bed no earlier than 11pm evening and then wake up 6am or even earlier the next day. If everyone needs at least 8 hours of sleep everyday then I bet majority of the adults are in deep trouble.

My dad lived up to a ripe good old age of 84 before he passed on. He sleep for just slightly over 5 hours everyday, for almost thirty years as far as i recalled. Apart from diabetes which only sets in when he was into his 70s, he was in overall good health so to speak.

I am not sure how on the 8-hour sleep came about, just like no one knows based on what findings and data doctor says we must drink at least six glass of water everyday. As a matter of fact there is now mounting evidence indicating that over consumption of water can be damaging and risk to your health!.

There is no doubt that sleep deprivation and constant sleep disruption can be really damaging to health. Sleep disorder and lack of proper rest is the one the biggest contributor to cancer and other serious diseases. It is a known fact that lack of rest can lower immune system and cause hormones to become unbalance.

The key contention though is in regards to the number of hours a person need to sleep everyday. The way I think about it, I believed the 8-hour is a figure that comes out from no where and there is no data to substantiate it. It is probably a myth much like the six glass of water.

You won't die ahead of your time if you sleep less than eight hours everyday and your health will not deteriorate because of it. Some may require more rest, some require less, the exact amount of time one needs to recharge so to speak depends on individual.

It Is About Quality Sleep And Not The Number Of Hours
As the saying goes, too much good thing is a bad thing and that applies to sleep as well. Did you know that some health experts warns that sleeping more than 8 hours a day can endanger your health!

On one side they advice that everyone needs at least 8-hour of rest and on the other hand they also warned that sleeping over 8 hours a day can pose serious health problems!

The crux of the matter is not insomuch about how many hours you need but rather how well you sleep. Quality of sleep matters more because if are able to rest say just five or six hours everyday, you are still doing fine if you sleep well.

So what can you make up about the eight hour sleep mantra? Forget about it, it is a myth just like any other expounded by some health 'experts' with no data to substantiate such claim. Whatever the case, make sure you sleep well, that's the bottom line.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Sleep Deprivation And What It Could Do To You

Insomnia is normally not a fatal condition, but it could be dangerous. Not getting an adequate amount of rest may be dangerous when operating cars or trucks or other equipment and may even cause other health problems. Health professionals suggest that we get eight hours of sleep a night for a purpose.

Studies show that up to 200,000 motor vehicle accidents in the U.S. are caused by sleep-deprived drivers each year, and that 1,500 of the accidents result in death. Studies also show that approximately one third of Americans have admitted to dropping off to sleep while driving, and that 10% of the incidents led to a car accident. People who experience habitual drowsiness (insomnia or a different sleep problem) are more likely to go to sleep at the wheel than people who have normal sleep habits.

You might be surprised to learn that your sleep patterns could have an influence on how long you live. A 2002 study shows that people who sleep about seven hours a night have the highest life-span, whereas those who slept six hours or less, or eight hours or more had shorter life spans. Sleep loss itself doesn't cause you to have a higher mortality rate, but this same research revealed that people who took sleeping pills did have a higher death rate.

Not surprisingly, your sleep patterns can have a considerable impact on your quality of life. People with insomnia could have a quality of life that is just about as bad as people with chronic medical conditions, including heart disease. That's because individuals who have insomnia experience more fatigue, irritability, and poorer relationships with their friends and family than those who get enough rest. Insomniacs also have more attention and memory difficulties, which unfortunately result in more errors at work. All of these put together can definitely result in a decline in your quality of life.

Insomnia can have a significant effect on your mood (you know you're always grumpy whenever you do not get plenty of sleep). But it may also bring about depression or other emotional issues. Sleep disorders and psychological problems are usually so connected that in some cases treating a person for insomnia can alleviate or even cure their emotional problems.

As you have seen, not getting enough sleep can definitely take a toll on your body. Lack of sleep can do more than make us fatigued, it can result in accidents or major health concerns later on. If you suffer from sleep issues for more than a few nights or a few weeks, you should visit a doctor for sleep treatments as well as make sure there aren't any other health issues causing your sleeplessness.

Friday, July 31, 2009

Sleep Deprivation And What It Could Do To You

Getting adequate good night sleep is one of the most important thing you need to have in life. Nothing that you do in life such as exercise, taking balance nutrition diet or even popping multivitamin pills would help if you don't get to achieve adequate quality sleep in life.

Forget about what Donald Trump says when he mentioned that sleep is a waste of time. Apparently successful people like him have too much going chasing after big bucks and it seems to these folks life is less important than wealth. As for the rest of us, getting adequate sleep is critical to our overall wellbeing. Michael Jackson died due to the powerful and dangerous sedative combination of drugs that he took to help cope with stress and sleeping disorder.

Some people pop pills such Ecstasy or take caffeine laden drinks such as thick coffee to race and beat time. You can't have your ways to deal with lack of sleep by relying on drugs. Many life are at risks as a result of such irresponsible actions on the part of coach and cab drivers, truck drivers and other critical job positions that requires mental focus and alertness.

You will have to work twice as hard and earn twice as much if you fall ill due to lack of sleep. Surprise and you think that is nonsense? Unless you are living under the rock, you would probably knows that medical expenses in some countries could be quite terribly expensive. Unless you kick the bucket quickly or you recover quickly or you have comprehensive health insurance coverage, prolong medical treatments can drain and empty you off all your life savings.

Millions of people around the world suffers from sleeping disorder. You may or may not feel the immediate side effects of lack of sleep. Some people could go on for days or even weeks or months sleeping on average 5 hours or left without experiencing or showing symptoms associated with lack of sleep. Some people are less tolerant to lack of sleep and show signs such as fatigue, inability to control emotion or temper, inability to focus, decreased work productivity when they don't sleep well for just couple of days.

Those who has greater tolerance for lack of sleep potentially risk long term health problems if they don't address sleep disorder at the soonest opportunity. Sleep depth accumulates and once it reach the threshold, triggers uncontrolled avalanche of health problems such as hormone imbalance, high blood pressure, depression, heart attack and to certain extreme cases, sudden death.

Sleep deprivation is equally as dangerous as alcohol abuse. Sleep deprivation increase stress and this in turn causes hormone imbalance which in turn further aggravate your sleep disorder problem.

So do yourself a favor, don't take sleep deprivation lightly and assume everything will be fine. You are just kidding yourself because somewhere down the road, your body will give away and leave you beyond repair.