Dear Dr. K:   Between work and caring for my kids, I barely get four hours of sleep a night. Are there long-term consequences of this kind of sleep deprivation? 

Dear Reader: If you are like most people, you're not getting enough sleep, and there could be consequences. Sleeping only four hours a night means you are suffering from partial sleep deprivation. You are getting some sleep, but not the amount that most people need.
After only two or more nights of short sleep, most people usually show signs of irritability and sleepiness. Work performance begins to suffer, and you're more likely to experience headaches, stomach problems and sore joints. You're also at far higher risk of falling asleep while driving.
But inadequate sleep over months or years can have more serious, potentially life-threatening consequences:
Viral infections: There's some evidence that when you're tired, you're more likely to get sick.
Weight gain: Sleep deprivation can make you feel hungrier and slow your body's metabolism. And when you're tired, you're less likely to exercise. Taken together, this combination can lead to unhealthy weight gain.
Diabetes:
Insufficient sleep can disrupt your body's hormone regulation, increasing your risk for Type 2 diabetes.
High blood pressure: Sleeping fewer than six hours per night appears to increase your risk of high blood pressure.
Heart disease: One large study found that compared with women who slept for seven hours, women who got no more than four hours of shut-eye were twice as likely to die from heart disease. That's not surprising, given the effects of short sleep on heart disease risk factors. Still, it was a wake-up call for the women who were the focus of the study — women who have too much to do and too little time to do it.
Mental illness: Sleep problems often precede a diagnosis of major depression and anxiety.
Clearly, sleep is not a luxury, but a basic component of a healthy lifestyle. Getting enough sleep requires discipline. Block off certain hours for sleep and then follow through.

And it's not just the number of hours between when you lie down and when you wake up that matters. It's also the quality of sleep during those hours. I have a list of tips for getting a sound sleep on my website.

Dr. Komaroff is a physician and professor at Harvard Medical School. Go to his website to send questions and get additional information: www.AskDoctorK.com.

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I LOVE MY CALM!    I never knew what it was to sleep REALLY deeply and wake up REALLY refreshed and rarin' to go until I began to drink Nectr Calm about 20 min. before bedtime.  The health benefits are far more than just  getting more done in your day.  As Dr. K points out  (I read him most days in our local newspaper) losing sleep contributes to serious health damage over time. 

Gee, I feel better already!

Share some Calm today with someone who snarls at you at work -- they may just be irritable from lack of sleep. 

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Thanks to Dr. Mike Lassley for posting this:

 



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