This Washington Post article reviews the numerous recent findings connecting lack of sleep to poorer health.
Increases Risk of Many Diseases
Research has shown that insufficient sleep can increase the risk of:
The last is in part indicated by a large new study. An analysis of a sample of almost 10,000 adults showed that those between the ages of 32 and 49 who sleep under seven hours a night are much more likely to be obese.
Disrupts Hormones and Proteins
Other studies have shown that insufficient or irregular sleep increases the risk of colon cancer and breast cancer, as well as heart disease and diabetes. This may be the result of sleep disruption affecting vital hormones and proteins.
A sleep deficit may put your body into a state of high alert, increasing stress hormones and driving up blood pressure.
Lack of sleep may also decrease melatonin in your body, which fights cancer, and it increases blood levels of substances that indicate a heightened state of inflammation, which is a risk factor for many illnesses. In addition, sleep affects the functioning of blood vessel lining.
Trouble With Blood Sugar
Even mild sleep deprivation disrupts the levels of the hormones ghrelin and leptin, which regulate appetite. Sleep-deprived people tend to have problems regulating their blood sugar, putting them at an increased risk for diabetes.
An astonishing number of studies have linked our 24/7 lifestyles -- chock full of work, commitments, e-mail and other distractions -- to a lack of sleep that's had a devastating effect on the U.S. population's health. But strangely, some medical experts still dispute this link, including one quoted in the linked article who claims Americans ''are getting healthier'' and calls those who are justifiably concerned about poor health and sleep debt ''Chicken Little people.'' Unbelievable. Apparently, those on the side of traditional medicine just don't understand or accept the contribution leptin makes to this problem. If you want to get up to speed on leptin, I urge you to review this article on diabetes and obesity and how leptin links both of those disease states. Meanwhile, you have plenty of safe and natural options at your disposal on the Web site to increase the quality and quantity of your sleep -- without the need for a potentially toxic drug -- by reading my extensive Guide to a Good Night's Sleep. If you haven't already reviewed this useful compilation of sleep aid suggestions, I would strongly encourage you to do so now. The guide will tell you how proper diet, lifestyle habits, and the use of energy psychology tools like Emotional Freedom Technique can help you get the rest you need to stay healthy and energetic.
An astonishing number of studies have linked our 24/7 lifestyles -- chock full of work, commitments, e-mail and other distractions -- to a lack of sleep that's had a devastating effect on the U.S. population's health.
But strangely, some medical experts still dispute this link, including one quoted in the linked article who claims Americans ''are getting healthier'' and calls those who are justifiably concerned about poor health and sleep debt ''Chicken Little people.''
Unbelievable.
Apparently, those on the side of traditional medicine just don't understand or accept the contribution leptin makes to this problem. If you want to get up to speed on leptin, I urge you to review this article on diabetes and obesity and how leptin links both of those disease states.
Meanwhile, you have plenty of safe and natural options at your disposal on the Web site to increase the quality and quantity of your sleep -- without the need for a potentially toxic drug -- by reading my extensive Guide to a Good Night's Sleep. If you haven't already reviewed this useful compilation of sleep aid suggestions, I would strongly encourage you to do so now.
The guide will tell you how proper diet, lifestyle habits, and the use of energy psychology tools like Emotional Freedom Technique can help you get the rest you need to stay healthy and energetic.