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sleep problems

Can Reduced Sleep Decrease The Span Of Your Work Life?

Work in an efficient manner and professional competency has remained the focus of discussion in research and business spheres throughout history. Sleep plays a very important role in maintaining the health of an individual. 

In a report published by Forbes, it is opined that peacefully sleeping eight hours a day is very important to ensure sound functioning of mind and body both. It is known that if you do not take sufficient sleep you will start feeling grumpy and won’t be able to perform best in your work life as well. One of the key questions asked by primary care specialist by patients is if they sleep properly for eight hours a day or not.  

“One out of every three individuals these days are affected by poor sleep and stress”

However, the troublesome fact is that the price to be paid for these sleepless nights is quite high. Ranging from lacking focus, bad mood to many fatal diseases all are results of lack of proper sleep. Over some time, it can also lead to other diseases like diabetes, heart diseases, and obesity. Thus, near me, sleep is one important part of our life on which there should be no compromise.

How much sleep on an average a person needs?

According to research data, healthy adults on an average need eight hours of quality sleep every day. However, there is no hard and fast rule; it varies to some extent from person to person. What matters most is that you find out how much sleep you need on an average and work on achieving the target daily. Generally, we can assess the situation through the daily condition. For example, if a person wakes up and then waits an entire day for a chance to get a short nap, that shows that the person is sleep-deprived in the first place and the body demands more sleeping time.

What happens to a body if a person does not sleep properly?

Lacking focus, fatigue, anger are the issues faced by many of the people daily. These are signs of lack of sleep. If you do not take peaceful sleep once in a blue moon, that obviously would not have any adverse effect on your health. However, if this becomes a routine ritual for you that undoubtedly is going to affect your health and performance in a bad manner.

If a person lacks peaceful sleep for several nights, the mental harmful effects become obvious after some time. The brain gradually becomes tired, lacks the focus and it becomes difficult to make good decisions. A person feels lethargic all the time. If the same condition persists, it can make the body prone to many adverse diseases as well.

How sleep helps to improve immunity:

According to various researches, sleep plays an important role in improving the tendency to fight diseases in a body. If a person occasionally suffers from fever, cold, flu that indicates weakened immunity and the suspected culprit could be lack of sleep. Taking proper sleep helps to boost up the immune system and has positive outcomes on overall health and performance.

The relation between sleep and obesity:

There is an interesting fact to know that there is a very important connection between putting on weight and sleeplessness. Researches show that if a person sleeps for less than seven hours daily he definitely gains weight and is also on the risk of becoming obese. The reason is that it is found in various studies that people who take inadequate sleep have low levels of leptin (gives the feeling of fullness) and have high levels of ghrelin (a hormone that stimulates hunger). Thus, this increased appetite also contributes to gaining more and more weight.

How sleep improves mental activity?

We all are aware that even one sleepless night affects our temperament and mood badly. Thus, the people who suffer from lack of sleep regularly are of course on the verge of developing anxiety and occasionally depression as well.

How sleep prevents diabetes?

Research data shows that persons who get less than five hours of peaceful sleep daily are prone to develop diabetes in their later age. One of the reason of increasing diabetes in the United States (New York, Manhattan, Chelsea) according to various researches are also linked to lack of proper sleep. The reason is that missing deep sleep changes the way the body transforms glucose and thus can lead to Diabetes Type Two.

The relation between sleep and heart diseases:

Many of the practitioners advise their patients suffering from heart diseases to ensure taking proper, peaceful and sufficient sleep regularly. The reason is that prolonged sleep deprivation can increase the risk of heart attack, angina, and high blood pressure. Sleep deprivation also increases the level of few hormones associated with inflammation, thus more inflammatory response puts a negative effect on heart functioning.

How to address your sleep deprivation?

If you are aware that you are not taking sufficient sleep, there is only one way to address that and it revolves around improving your sleep pattern. Of course, it is not possible to achieve the desired outcomes with single night efforts. But, so was the harm the lack of sleep began affecting your health and work performance after several weeks. Thus, the recovery on a similar pattern also needs a few weeks on average. you can begin with the weekend; add 2 hours of sleep to your regular sleeping time every weekend. What you need to do is just follow your natural rhythm and natural clock. When your body feels tired and sleepy, go to bed immediately without setting an alarm for the morning. Let your body decide when to wake up on weekends. This will have a positive outcome on your general well-being, mental health, and overall work performance as well. You can improve the quality of your sleepover time. This will eventually give you fruitful results. This will eventually give you fruitful results.

– Disclaimer –

This blog is for informational & educational purposes only, and does not intend to substitute any professional medical advice or consultation. For any health related concerns, please consult with your physician, or call 911.

Medically Reviewed

Last reviewed by Dr. Syra Hanif, M.D. on 09/03/2019

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  • About The Author

    Dr. Syra Hanif M.D.

    Board Certified Primary Care Physician

Dr. Syra Hanif is a board-certified Primary Care Physician (PCP) dedicated to providing compassionate, patient-centered healthcare.

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