Sleeping is great. It’s hardly disputed, but along with being amazing, it’s also critical to overall well-being and quality of life. Not getting enough sleep can ruin your health, lower your sex drive, weaken your immune system, cause thinking issues, lead to weight gain, among many, many other things.
When you don’t get enough sleep, and many of us do (1 in 3 Canadians don’t get 7 hours of sleep a night) your body turns on you. It starts to act in a way that is harmful to your quality of life.
Be aware that making up sleep on the weekend is not a viable solution. This method doesn’t allow your body the same benefits as if you consistently sleep at least 7 hours a night. Plus, both short sleep duration (less than 5 hours per night) and long sleep durations (9 or more hours per night) have been shown to have a negative impact on heart health.
Read on to understand better what happens to your body when you don’t snoooooze enough.
Your Health Will Suffer…In Many Ways!
Fighting off illness is an everyday activity for the antibodies in your body. Not getting enough sleep doesn’t allow your body to battle against these illnesses successfully. Recently, it’s been discovered that you may lose additional sleep while your body fights off a bug if you get sick and haven’t had enough shut-eye. It’s a never-ending spiral downward. Shortened sleep is also associated with higher rates of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and prostate cancer
If these health risks don’t convince you to get more sleep, do it for your looks!
In one study, a group of people between the ages of 30 and 50 were evaluated based on their sleep habits and the condition of their skin. The results revealed that those with too little sleep had more fine lines, wrinkles, uneven skin color, and marked looseness of the skin.
The Mind Becomes Muddled
Even missing one night of sleep can lead to some major cognition (thinking) issues. In a study published by Experimental Brain Research, men were asked to complete a task. One group would do so after 8 hours of sleep, the others after less than 6.
Those who had a full sleep outshone the light sleepers in an astounding manner.
Problems in the Bedroom (Need We Say More?)
This is a touchy one, but one that will get the attention of many young people trying to burn the midnight oil. Young men who lost sleep over a one-week period showed a decrease in testosterone levels. Sleeping 5 or fewer hours reduced sex hormone levels by as much as 10 to 15 percent.
You’ll Go from Fit to Fat in No Time
Unsurprisingly, a lack of sleep often equates to a packing on of the pounds. In a study of people over the age of 20, those who slept less than 5 hours each night over the course of the three-year study were more likely to gain weight and eventually become obese.
Whoops! (You Forgot to Pick Up Groceries for Dinner)
You’re three times more likely to be involved in a car accident if you get 6 or fewer hours of sleep each night. The most vulnerable people are shift workers, commercial drivers, business travelers, and anyone else working long or odd hours. Think twice before getting behind the wheel if you’re not sleeping enough.
HAVING WRITTEN ALL THIS, please take some time to consider all you’re risking before you click through to that YouTube rabbit hole at 11pm on a work night.
For more information, reach out to us at aidanm@restwell.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
Founded in 1990, Restwell sells its product line through National Retail & Independent Dealers in North America. Restwell also has a Hospitality Sales Division which services corporate accounts across Canada. Restwell manufactures all bedding, at its state-of-the-art facility in Surrey B.C., to order through “just in time” production techniques which serves its dealers and customers more efficiently. Most bedding orders are scheduled, produced and shipped within 3 days of receipt with fast, friendly and reliable service on our dedicated trucking fleet.
