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If you’ve ever spent a whole night shifting and turning, you probably know how drained, cranky, or out of sorts you’ll feel the very next day because of lack of sleep.
However, not getting the optimal 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night does more than make you groggy and irritable. Sleep deficiency has long-term consequences.
It depletes your mental ability and jeopardizes your physical health. In addition, sleep deprivation has been related to various health issues, ranging from weight gain to a compromised immune system.
How much sleep do we need?
After a good night’s sleep, everybody feels better. However, thanks to a new study from the National Sleep Foundation, you can now set a specific sleep goal depending on age.
- Adults are aged 65 and up 7 to 8 hours.
- Adults aged 26 to 64: 7 to 9 hours
- Young adults (18–25 years old): 7–9 hours.
- Teenagers between the ages of 14 and 17: 8 to 10 hours
- Children aged 6 to 13 years old: 9 to 11 hours.
- Children aged 3 to 5 years old: 10 to 13 hours.
- 11 to 14 hours of sleep needs for toddlers aged 1 to 2 years.
- 12 to 15 hours for infants aged 4 to 11 months.
- 14 to 17 hours for newborns aged 0 to 3 months.
The dangers of sleep deprivation
Everyone has felt the exhaustion, irritability, and loss of concentration that often accompany a bad night’s sleep.
You’ll feel sluggish and grumpy the next day if you don’t get enough sleep on occasion, but it won’t hurt your well-being.
The mental symptoms become more severe after a lack of sleep at night. It will be difficult for you to focus and make a decision because your brain will be foggy.
You’ll begin to feel tired, and you could even fall asleep in the middle of the day. Then, at home, at work, and on the road, the chance of injury and accidents rises.
Short-term Issues of lack of sleep
The following are a list of short-term issues:
- Lack of vigilance. Even missing 1.5 hours will make a difference in how you feel.
- Excessive drowsiness throughout the day. During the day, it can make you sleepy and tired.
- Memory impairment. Sleep deprivation will impair your ability to think, recall, and process data.
- Stress in a relationship. It can make you irritable and increase your chances of having disputes with others.
- Life satisfaction. You can find it difficult to engage in regular everyday activities or exercise.
There’s a higher chance of a traffic crash. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driver drowsiness causes thousands of accidents, injuries, and deaths each year.
Sleep deprivation may harm your appearance. For example, it can cause premature drooping and dark circles under the eyes with time.
There’s also a correlation between sleep deprivation and a rise in cholesterol, the stress response. However, Collagen is the protein that maintains skin smoothness, can break down by cholesterol.
Long Term Issues
If you continue to work without getting enough sleep, you can develop more severe long-term health issues.
High blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, heart failure, and stroke are among the most severe possible complications related to chronic sleep deprivation.
Obesity, depression, immune system dysfunction, and decreased sex drive are also possible side effects.
How to catch up on lack of sleep
If you never get enough sleep, the only way to make up for it is to get even more sleep. However, it ain’t going to happen in a single night’s sleep.
If you’ve been sleeping poorly for months, you’ll have accumulated a major sleep debt, so expect it to take multiple weeks to recover.
Try to get an additional hour or two of sleep every night starting on the weekend to cover lack of sleep. One can accomplish this by going to bed when you’re exhausted and letting your body waking you up in the morning (no alarm clocks!).
At first, you should plan to sleep for up to 10 hours a night. The time you sleep will slowly reduce to a natural level after a while.
Try these simple strategies if you’re having mild, infrequent sleep issues:
- Treat having enough sleep with the same urgency as taking medication.
- Maintain a regular wake-up time.
- Put your cell phones and tablets away.
- If you ever wake up in the middle of the night, try not to look at the clock.
Wrapping It Up!!!
People in our culture today do not get enough sleep. Since there is so much other stuff to do – family, personal matters, and professional life – they placed sleep so low on their priorities list.
These are obstacles, but it makes a big difference if people realize how important sufficient sleep is and better.