Sleeping less than six hours a night is as bad as binge drinking and severely damages your brain, study finds
Regularly getting less than six hours sleep a night could cause the same long-term damage as alcohol abuse, according to a worrying new study.
For the body, sleep deprivation results in increased risk of obesity, depression, heart attacks and strokes - causing experts to dub it the 'modern ill'.
However, the most worrying consequences are rooted in the brain and new research suggests the effects are far more destructive than previously thought.
I see a couple common problems with sleeping. First is a lot of people don't realize this but if you have trouble sleeping it could be because you have a vitamin deficiency. I can testify to this because I use to have a really hard time falling asleep and snoring while I was sleeping. I felt very unhealthy and was gaining weight so I got serious about my health and starting taking high quality plant derived vitamins and minerals supplements. After a couple month of taking these I noticed I was falling asleep faster and my wife noticed I was snoring much much less than before. I didn't even expect this kind of benefit from taking these supplements but I now know your body has trouble doing just about everything if you're not giving it the proper nutrition.
The second thing I see as being a problem is all the artificial light we are under. We are under artificial light pretty much from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to bed. It's bad because the bright lights we use to light up are homes, tvs, computers and phones trick our brains into thinking it's still day time and there for they don't need to product melatonin that makes you sleepy and gives you a restful night sleep. If you don't believe me go out and primitive camp in the woods or mountains for a few days where once it's dark the only light you get is from a campfire. You will be tired and ready for bed after about an hour in the dark and if you have a comfy place to sleep it will be the best night sleep you've gotten in a longtime.
If you have trouble sleeping that should be warning sign that something not right with your life. So don't take it lightly that you're getting less than 6hrs a night because it's very unhealthy and just knowing some simple facts like the ones I shared could completely change your life for the better.
I'm actually going to a sleep study tomorrow night. I see a sleep specialist here in NYC. It's very important to see doctor for chronic sleep problems. I don't have any vitamin deficiencies but other issues. Upvoted and following.
Yay! Another voice talking about the affect of artificial light on sleep.
I just got great blackout window treatments - what a difference it makes!
Good Idea, if you have a lot of light coming into your bedroom window at night.
Wow lots of good information on sleep in this article. Good job.
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ok you coinvinced me. bed time!
You got my vote and a resteem :]
Insomnia has a terrible effect on you, I usually try to sleep and end up sleeping at 4:00 am and then at 6:00 am I am awake, and I have nothing to do, but once you are awake you can't get back to sleep so you have to do with only 2 or maybe 3 hours of sleep every night and of course your whole system suffers, you can't think clearly, you are in a stupor, you are definitely physically at nearly zero. I have been fixing this by taking clonazepam which is a prescription medicine, and it does make me sleep, but it still has side effects, I don't feel completely rested when I wake up and usually around 2 or 3 pm I feel very sleepy, I wish I could find an alternative, and believe me I have tried but nothing works. Remember the melatonin furor? Never worked for me.
It's also important to note that the minimum amount of sleep needed changes with age. In general, the younger you are, the more you should sleep.
The way I am going my brain will be damaged i dont remember the last time i slept more than 6 hrs.
These days, people care less about sleep. Thanks for sharing
Yes, the artificial light is a big problem with sleep. That's why powering down an hour or two before sleep, that is no electronic devices is so crucial. Thanks for sharing this great post.