Having 7-8 hours’ sleep is imperative. Some people brag about their strength and endurance, proudly saying that they only get four or five hours of sleep. But, recent scientific research shows that lack of sleep can cause significant changes to your body and increase the risk of some life-threatening health conditions such as obesity, heart diseases and can even lead to an early death.
7-8 hours’ sleep is vital for many reasons. When you sleep, your brain releases hormones to signal your body; it helps in decreasing the risk of bad health conditions and maintain your immune system. It also helps in retaining your memory and manage your hunger levels.
However, if you have more than 7-8 hours’ sleep at night consistenly, it can negatively affect your body.
The healthy amount of sleep is 7-8 hours for adults each night. Researchers analyzed data from 16 different studies, that were conducted for 25 years, covering more than 1.3 million people, and they found that people who generally sleep for less than five to seven hours are likely to experience a premature death. The research also shows that people who sleep for more than 9 hours a day are at the same higher risk of early death.
Poor sleeping habits can increase your body’s need for required energy. When we sleep at night, the nutrients and caloric requirement of our body is reduced, but when you are sleep-deprived, your brain starts to release hormones that signal hunger. It can lead to eating more and less exercising; thus, the ultimate effect is obesity.
When you sleep, your immune system releases compounds known as cytokines. These help your immune system in fighting inflammations and strengthens the immunity of your body.
Without enough sleep, you won’t have enough cytokines, and you’d get sick often. Other components in your immune system, like; white blood cells and antibodies, can also get reduced with a lesser amount of sleep.
Getting proper sleep helps you to focus; it helps in protecting and strengthening your memory. Research shows that sleeping after learning something new can help with memory retention. People who sleep less have a harder time receiving information because of the overworked and fatigued neurons. They also interpret events differently and have impaired judgment, which causes losing the ability to retain previous pieces of information.
Different studies proved that lack of sleep could contribute to chronic health conditions like diabetes mellitus, obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, and heart diseases.
When you are in a deep sleep, your body works to repair the muscles, organs, and other cells. Chemicals that strengthen your immune system starts to circulate in your blood. About one-fifth of your night sleep is in a deep sleep, and that’s when your body repairs itself.
The REM stage of sleep helps your brain in clearing out the information that’s not required. It works like an antivirus scanning your brain and deleting the unnecessary files.
A few quick facts about sleep, 12% of people dream entirely in black and white. Two thirds of a cat’s life is spent asleep. Humans spend 1/3 of their life sleeping. The record for the longest period without sleep is 11 days. Sleep deprivation will kill you more quickly than food deprivation.
So, get enough sleep to stay healthy. Thank you for watching the video, come back for more.
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