What Dangers Can Your Body Gets When You Don’t Get Enough Sleep
loading...
If you eat well and exercise daily but don’t get at least seven hours of sleep every night, you may undermine all your other efforts.
Sleep disorders expert Harneet Walia, MD, says it’s important to focus on getting enough sleep, something many of us lack. “First and foremost, we need to make sleep a priority,” she says. “We always recommend a good diet and exercise to everyone. Along the same lines, we need to focus on sleep as well.”
How much sleep do you actually need?
Everyone feels better after a good night’s rest. But now, thanks to a report from the National Sleep Foundation, you can aim for a targeted sleep number tailored to your age.
The foundation based its report on two years of research. Published in a recent issue of the foundation’s journal Sleep Health, the report updates previous sleep recommendations. It breaks them into nine age-specific categories with a range for each, which allows for individual differences:
Older adults, 65+ years: 7-8 hours
Adults, 26-64 years: 7-9 hours
Young adults, 18-25 years: 7-9 hours
Teenagers, 14-17 years: 8-10 hours
School-age children, 6-13 years: 9-11 hours
Preschool children, 3-5 years: 10-13 hours
Toddlers, 1-2 years: 11-14 hours
Infants, 4-11 months: 12-15 hours
Newborns, 0-3 months: 14-17 hours
Dr. Walia says there’s evidence that genetic, behavioral and environmental factors help determine how much sleep an individual needs for the best health and daily performance.
But a minimum of seven hours of sleep is a step in the right direction to improve your health, she says.
What happens when you don’t get enough sleep?
Your doctor urges you to get enough sleep for good reason, Dr. Walia says. Shorting yourself on shut-eye has a negative impact on your health in many ways:
Short-term problems can include:
Lack of alertness: Even missing as little as 1.5 hours can have an impact, research shows.
Impaired memory: Lack of sleep can affect your ability to think and to remember and process information.
Relationship stress: It can make you feel moody, and you can become more likely to have conflicts with others.
Quality of life: You may become less likely to participate in normal daily activities or to exercise.
Greater likelihood for car accidents: Drowsy driving accounts for thousands of crashes, injuries and fatalities each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
If you continue to operate without enough sleep, you may see more long-term and serious health problems. Some of the most serious potential problems associated with chronic sleep deprivation are high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, heart failure or stroke. Other potential problems include obesity, depression and lower s* x drive.
Chronic sleep deprivation can even affect your appearance. Over time, it can lead to premature wrinkling and dark circles under the eyes. Also, research links a lack of sleep to an increase of the stress hormone cortisol in the body. Cortisol can break down collagen, the protein that keeps skin smooth.
In our society, nowadays, people aren’t getting enough sleep. They put sleep so far down on their priority list because there are so many other things to do – family, personal and work life. These are challenges, but if people understand how important adequate sleep is, it makes a huge difference.
Aetna Health Insurance
Aetna Health Insurance Company started its operation since 1850. They are dedicated in helping individuals achieved security in terms of health and financial. Aetna provides its members useful information to help them decide which insurance works for them. They provide insurance for employers around 50 states of America. Aetna's customers are mostly employers, individuals, students, and hourly or part-time workers. Their products and services include medical, dental, vision, disability, pharmacy, life, student, pet and behavioral health.Aetna Health Insurance gives affordable coverage. From their wide range of services available, for sure there is one that's right for you. Aetna will even help you to choose a plan that's best for you. You will get help in accessing whatever care you need. Whatever the situation maybe, you will be assured that Aetna will provide you the help that you need in order to live a healthier life and in getting the most of your health dollars. You can even cover your pet in their Pet Insurance. Like any of your family members, animals also have health needs. It will let you manage your cost in treating your pet's injuries and illnesses. Included in pet insurance policies are lab test, surgery and visit to a licensed veterinarian and specialists.
Aetna Health Insurance has a symbol of AET at NY Stock Exchange. They have over 19 million members for medical, 14 million members for dental and 11 million pharmacy members. At present they have more than 920,000 health care professional, 528,000 doctors and specialist and 5,112 hospitals. They have been recognized worldwide and have been named by Fortune magazine as the Most Admired Company for Health Care. Some other awards they have received are: 2008 CRO's 100 Best Corporate Citizens, 2008 Health Literacy Awards, first in Payer View Rankings 2008, 2007 Behavioral Health Awards, Corporate Leadership Award, 2006 Innovation Award, 2004 HERA Award and more.
loading...