A Happy Life Tip: Get Your Zzz’s!
PIN IT!
I’m going to take a slightly different approach to this post than I normally do. Instead of listing why you should be getting a full eight hours of sleep every night, I’m going to instead, list the negative health effects that happen if you don’t catch enough zzz’s! Hopefully this “scare” tactic will make you realize how important a true nights rest is! Call me the health bully 🙂
6 hours and less:
Not enough sleep not only makes you tired, irritable, grouchy or less productive [see above], it can actually cause memory loss and decreased cognitive ability! According to a study done by the University of Pennsylvania, functioning on six hours or less can impair your memory and reaction time in the same way that staying awake for up to 2 days straight would! Another study done by US Scientists found that people who slept less than 6 hours were also 4.5 times more likely to develop abnormal blood sugar readings in a six year time frame compared with those who got the recommended 8 hours. In the Journal of Hypertension, researchers also found that getting this meager amount of zzz’s also doubled premenopausal women’s risk of hypertension.
7 hours or less:
Although you are in a better boat with that extra hour, skipping that last hour can still cause some health problems. With less than 7 hours of sleep under your belt, you are three times more likely to catch a cold than those who get that extra hour. Also dieter’s beware. According to SELF, Â we produce more of the appetite-promoting hormone ghrelin and less of the satiety-producing hormone leptin when we’re low on sleep, which can result in weight gain.
9 or more hours:
Too little sleep, as stated above, is a major health risk. However, getting too much sleep [over 9 hours a night] can be just as bad, so think twice before you hit snooze. If you get over 9 hours of sleep a night, you tend to have a higher mortality rate than those who get the normal amount, a study by the American Cancer Society found. Another study which focused on the sleep patterns of nurses [found in an article by the NY Times] found that nurses who slept more than 9 hours were twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than those who did not.
To stay alert, productive and happy, and to keep weight down, your immune system strong and your risk for fatal diseases at bay, get about 8 hours of sleep a night. If you are just too busy or have trouble falling asleep, talk with a doctor to find the best way to get your rest.
