Baku, December 26, AZERTAC
Not getting enough sleep can reduce sex drive, weaken the immune system, cause thinking problems and lead to weight gain.
When you don’t get enough sleep, it can also increase your risk of certain types of cancer, diabetes, etc.
Lack of sleep can impair the body’s ability to fight off disease. This makes it easier to get sick.
Researchers have even discovered a reciprocal relationship between sleep and the immune system. If we get sick and don’t get enough sleep, we could lose more sleep as our bodies fight off viruses.
Both short sleep (less than 5 hours per night) and long sleep (9 or more hours per night) have been shown to have a negative impact on heart health.
Specifically, the chances of developing coronary heart disease or suffering a stroke increase considerably with fewer hours of sleep.
Lack of sleep is associated with higher rates of breast cancer, colorectal cancer and prostate cancer. Night shift workers can bear the brunt of this burden.
Even a lack of sleep can lead to significant cognitive (thinking) problems.
In a study published by Experimental Brain Research, a group of 18 men were given a task. The first task was completed after a full night’s sleep. The following task was completed after missing a night’s sleep.
As AZERTAC reports, brain functions such as memory, decision making, reasoning and problem solving worsen, along with reaction time and attention.
Not only can lack of sleep make you more forgetful, but more and more studies indicate that sleep affects learning and memory.
Researchers suggest that sleep is essential for the process of consolidating what we learn in the brain. In other words, we need adequate rest to assimilate new information and memorize it.
People who don’t get enough sleep (or who sleep too much) increase their risk of developing diabetes in later life.
The researchers looked at 10 different studies focusing on sleep and diabetes. Their findings revealed that between 7 and 8 hours of rest is the optimum range to avoid insulin problems that could lead to diabetes. If all these health risks don’t convince you to get more sleep, do it right away.
In one study, a group of people between the ages of 30 and 50 were assessed on their sleep habits and the condition of their skin. The results revealed that those who slept poorly had more fine lines, wrinkles, uneven skin color and markedly sagging skin.
The Little Sleepers were also more dissatisfied with their appearance than the Good Sleepers.
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