Healthy Sleep
Healthy Sleep is Vital for Your Wellness and Success
Sleep is a natural part of our life. We spend about one-third of our lives asleep. Nonetheless, people generally know little about sleep and how vital it is for our wellness and success, Sleep actually appears to be required for survival. Rats deprived of sleep will die within two to three weeks, a time frame similar to death due to starvation. So good sleep is not an option.[1]
How Much Sleep Do Adults Need?
How much sleep you need changes as we age, and varies from person to person. Most adults need seven to eight hours of good sleep a night.
Insufficient sleep is defined as less than seven hours of sleep daily. More than a third of U.S. adults report that they usually get less than the recommended amount of sleep. [2]
What Causes Insufficient Sleep?
Lifestyle factors and undiagnosed or untreated sleep disorders can cause insufficient sleep.
Lifestyle factors include not getting enough sleep, having an irregular sleep schedule, and using alcohol or certain medications.
Sleep disorders are many but the most common are sleep apnea, insomnia, narcolepsy, and restless legs syndrome. Large numbers of individuals suffering from these sleep disorders are undiagnosed and unaware of their disorder. [3]
What are the Consequences of Insufficient Sleep?
Insufficient sleep is associated with an increased risk for a number of chronic diseases:
- Diabetes
- Cardiovascular disease
- Obesity
- Depression
Also insufficient sleep may be associated with difficulty concentrating, memory lapses, loss of energy, fatigue, lethargy, and emotional instability. It contributes to motor vehicle crashes due to drowsy driving, and to workplace accidents and errors causing substantial injury and disability each year. [2]
Five Health Behavior for Preventing Chronic Disease?
- Not smoking
- Regular physical activity
- Moderate* or no alcohol consumption
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Daily sufficient sleep (7 or more hours) [4]
References
1.
Rechtschaffen, A. 1998. Current perspectives on the function of sleep. Perspectives in Biological Medicine, 41: 359–390.
2.
Sleep and Health Among Adults. – CDC
3.
Strohl, K.P., Haponik, E.E., Sateia, M.J., Veasey, S., Chervin, R.D., Zee, P., and Papp, K. 2000. The need for a knowledge system in sleep and chronobiology. Academic Medicine, 75: 819–21.
4.
Liu Y, Croft JB, Wheaton AG, et al. Clustering of five health-related behaviors for chronic disease prevention among adults, United States, 2013. Prev Chronic Dis 2016;13:160054.
