29/03/2024
How Sleep Affects
How Sleep Affects Our Bodies and Brains?

Sleep is extremely valuable to the body; it’s for a reason that we spend a significant portion of the day on it. The average person spends about 25 years sleeping. But, unfortunately, modern man often has to ignore the demands of his body for the sake of his career, children and other interests. Lack of sleep affects health.

Constant lack of sleep weakens memory and attention, affects cell metabolism and the health of internal organs, and increases stress levels.

According to the results of an experiment by specialists from the University of Surrey in Britain, it was found that chronic sleep deprivation led to a decrease in the activity of 700 genes, which disrupted chemical processes in the body.

The experiment was conducted on 26 volunteers. The subjects slept less than 6 hours a day for a week.

How Sleep Affects

Let’s talk about the impact of sleep on health and how to cope with sleep deprivation and its consequences.

Sleep Norms

The sleep-wake cycle is regulated by the circadian rhythm (cyclical fluctuation of biological processes) and homeostasis (the body’s desire to maintain a constant internal state). As long as we are active, “sleep debt” accumulates. As soon as it reaches its limit, we begin to peck our noses and fall asleep.

During sleep, we compensate for this debt. After that, we reach the threshold of arousal and wake up. Sleep and wake states change according to the 24-hour cycle, subject to the rotation of the Earth.

Sufficient duration of sleep varies with age:

  • Unborn children sleep the longest – up to 17 hours a night, and newborns – about 14-16 hours.
  • Children from 3 to 11 years old need up to 15 hours of sleep.
  • Preschoolers – 10-13 hours.
  • Junior school children – 10-11 hours.
  • Teenagers – 8-10 hours.
  • Adults – 7 to 9 hours.
  • Older people aged 65 and over – 7-8 hours.

For some, it can be challenging to sleep as much. However , it gets even harder when there are so many pleasant things around, like live casino lightning roulette or a recently-released movie. The value for each hour of sleep is also different. For example, an hour of sleep from 7-8 pm will be five times more productive than an hour from 1-2 am.

If you sleep your norm, the body recovers its full strength. The brain comprehensively evaluates the physical condition of the organs and helps eliminate errors and malfunctions accumulated during your waking hours.

Now let’s understand how lack of sleep affects the human body.

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The Impact of Lack of Sleep on Health

Headaches

The emergence of headaches is one of the consequences of not getting enough sleep. It’s a sign of poor health of the whole body. Headaches occur most often in people who are predisposed to them. For example, those who suffer from migraines.

Heart Disease

Lack of normal sleep increases the level of the stress hormone (cortisol) in the blood, which in turn affects the heart. High levels of cortisol increase blood pressure and cause damage to blood vessels. People with hypertension should be especially wary of lack of sleep, as they risk seriously worsening their condition.

Depression

Poor sleep deprivation spoils your mood and leads to a loss of energy and interest in life. It negatively affects the nervous system and makes a person irritable. All this makes it difficult to communicate with other people and greatly reduces the pleasure of having fun and interesting things to do.

Slowness of Reaction

The longer you go without a normal routine, the more inattentive you become. Sleep deprivation slows down reactions. Students who don’t get enough sleep do worse academically than their peers who get enough sleep.

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How Sleep Deprivation Affects Digestion and What to Do About It

Studies have shown that the stomach and intestines are governed by a circadian rhythm. At different times there is a different efficiency of absorption of nutrients. In addition, hormones regulating appetite are produced in varying amounts. The immune cells in the intestines also depend on the circadian rhythm.

The circadian rhythm affects the synthesis of vitamins, the balance of intestinal bacteria, nucleic acid metabolism and other processes related to the digestive system. This is why its disruption leads to significant problems, such as obesity or nutritional deficiencies.

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