“Chronic sleep deprivation lowers testosterone levels and can age a young person from 10 to 15 years. The lack of a hormone causes diseases of the endocrine system, “said study leader Yves Van Kauter. The scientist, together with colleagues from the university, conducted an experiment with the participation of volunteers, whose average age was 24 years. . The young people were offered a psychological and physical exam to identify endocrine system diseases as well as mental disorders. During the three days of the study, the participants slept for ten hours and the next eight days less than five hours. The third good sleep day and last day of short sleep, the researchers took blood samples for analysis every 15-30 minutes for 24 hours.
As a result, they found that lack of sleep had a strong effect on testosterone levels. After a week of lack of sleep, the concentration of the hormone in the blood decreased by 10-15%. A significant decrease was noted in the afternoon, when they slept less than five hours. In addition, the volunteers reported bad mood, general muscle weakness, decreased libido and energy levels to the specialists.
An article about the study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Journal of the American Medical Association – JAMA).
The insidiousness of sleep deprivation is that sleep deprivation is nearly impossible to make up for. Sleep Experts Warn: you can get enough sleep in one day, that is, sleep today for yesterday. And this is at best. It will not be possible to make up for the weekly deficit.
And the chronic lack of sleep leads to the fact that the self-healing mechanisms of the nervous system are violated. People have serious problems falling asleep and sleep quality – it becomes superficial and intermittent. And in the morning instead of cheerfulness and freshness – headache and a feeling of weakness. We often try to help ourselves in such a situation with the help of sleeping pills. And that’s what happens: in the evening we swallow the medicine to fall asleep, and in the morning we fill up with stimulants to wake us up.
Not familiar – it’s stress. Therefore, due to the pressure, the heartbeat accelerates, the stomach and intestines “hit”. Irritability grows, attention dissipates. Lack of sleep – is overweight. The human body is genetically programmed so that wakefulness is only possible in two situations: the extraction of food and the escape from danger. In both cases, a sufficiently large amount of energy is required. Therefore, it is not surprising that night owls often break into the refrigerator.
According to statistics, people who sleep less than 4 hours a night, the risk of contracting obesity is 74% higher.compared to those who sleep 7-9 hours. Sleeping 5 hours can add extra pounds in 50% of cases, and six hours of sleep increases the risk of obesity by 23%. Lack of sleep – the development of hormone deficiency (testosterone deficiency). For men – loss of erection, decreased libido, osteoporosis (development of increased bone fragility, their excessive fragility), insomnia, depression, apathy, loss of physical activity.
Recipes for insomnia.
Main points: hhealthy food, cfresh air, calm environment while getting ready for bed. Electronics. Don’t sit late at your computer or cell phone. At night it is advisable to turn off all appliances, because even in standby mode they emit barely noticeable high frequency soundswhich are annoying, like a mosquito itching above the ear. The mobile phone must be turned off from the network and taken to another room and not placed next to you.
But the main thing is to understand that sacrificing sleep means shortening life. If you are unable to restore sleep on your own, it is best to contact a sleep specialist. He might recommend, for example, sleep deprivation or 36-hour wakefulness, which can restore the broken biological clock. This tool, with all its outward simplicity, is used only for the purpose of a specialist and under his supervision.
