Facts about sleep.
Whatever you do, please ensure you get enough daily rest and sleep.

Some Excerpts:

• Short sleep duration ( <5 or 5-6 hours ) increased risk for high BP by 350% to 500% compared to those who slept longer than 6 hours per night. Paper published in 2009. As you know, high BP kills.

• Young people ( 25-49 years of age ) are twice as likely to get high BP if they sleep less. Paper published in 2006.

• Individuals who slept less than 5 hours a night had a 3-fold increased risk of heart attacks. Paper published in 1999.

• Complete and partial lack of sleep increased the blood concentrations of High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-cRP), the strongest predictor of heart attacks. Even after getting adequate sleep later, the levels stayed high!!

• Just one night of sleep loss increases very toxic substances in body such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumour Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF-alpha) and C-reactive protein (cRP). They increase risks of many medical conditions, including cancer, arthritis and heart disease. Paper published in 2004.

• Sleeping for <=5 hours per night leads to 39% increase in heart disease. Sleeping for <=6 hours per night leads to 18% increase in heart disease. Paper published in 2006.

Ideal Sleep

In brief, sleep is composed of two stages: REM ( Rapid Eye Movement ) and non-REM. The former helps in mental consolidation while the latter helps in physical repair and rebuilding. During the night, you alternate between REM and non-REM stages 4-5 times.

The earlier part of sleep is mostly non-REM. During that period, your pituitary gland releases growth hormones that repair your body. The latter part of sleep is more and more REM type.

For you to be mentally alert during the day, the latter part of sleep is more important. No wonder when you wake up with an alarm clock after 5-6 hours of sleep, you are mentally irritable throughout the day (lack of REM sleep). And if you have slept for less than 5 hours, your body is in a complete physical mess ( lack of non-REM sleep ), you are tired throughout the day, moving like a zombie and your immunity is way down ( I’ve been there, done that ).

Finally, as long-distance runners, you need an hour of extra sleep to repair the running related damage.

If you want to know if you are getting adequate sleep, take Epworth Sleepiness Test.

Interpretation: Score of 0-9 is considered normal while 10 and above abnormal. Many a times, I have clocked 21 out the maximum possible 24, the only saving grace being the last situation, since I don’t like to drive ( maybe, I should ask my driver to answer that line ).

In conclusion:

If you are not getting enough sleep ( 7 hours ), you are playing with fire, even if you have low stress.

Many of us are doing exactly the same, perhaps out of ignorance.


STAY HEALTHY AND BE WELL!

Thanks so much for the tip PJ sis. You r right, even knowing this facts, we tend to ignore them. But the effect after wards will have an impact on our well being. I'm guilty of stress, of sleep deprivation and now on maintenance pill (for HBP). I now make it a point to have at least 7 hrs of sleep so as not to further damage my health.

Let us all be aware.

Actually, sleeping lowers our stress levels aside from looking radiant and youthful and, we feel refresh after 7-8 hrs of sleep. We need to calm down our internal organs. Have read that the critical points in sleep mode is from 1:00 - 4:00 a.m. that we must be sleeping in order for our organs to rest and fully recover.


found one of the links for Epworth Sleepiness Test
www.sleepdisorderhelp.net/sleep-test.html

I guess we should take care of our health well, and it's time to take off the bad habits (vices) that makes our body weak or shortens our life..

ohh no..i always sleep just 4-5 hours daily..i have a big risk of having a high BP or heart ailments..i should be more careful about my health..thanks for that info unnie..i am now aware of the possibilities..of sleeping a few hours

PJ you should sleep more

Actually there were something I did before sleeping and I want to take it back when I get up. The working hours can make us stressed and sleeping will help us refresh ourselves.

Honestly I slept 4 hours last night and was driving in hurry this morning, I should change myself

@sis eve; thx for sharing the link!
@gail: most of the time we forgot to take care of ourselves.
@roxie: you shud start get enough sleep my young sister. don't say, i'm still young, nothing will happen to me. start early to avoid frustration the day after!
@sunny: yeah.. perhaps when nobody IM-ing me while I was trying to sleep

For me, I do have constant sleeping disorder due to my work demand and environment. I've to work night shift once a month for a week and this has been affected my life so much. Slleping disorder, eating disorder.
I must fwd this to HR. To say, working night shift is hazzardous. With this current state of working environment, I don't know how much toxic level I currently have in my body or will be accumulated when I reach 40yrs old. ok that freak me out. I must find a new job, NOW!!

I think I should also change my habit of sleeping late..We should take action now that we're still young so that someday we won't have regrets..













Shining Star Shin Hye!