Taste Life Blog

Wake up! Are you one of the millions of Americans taking an expensive nap in sporting events, concert halls and movie theaters? Although the average adult needs eight or nine hours of sleep, The National Sleep Foundation studies have discovered that the average adult gets six hours of sleep or less during their work week.

We take sleep for granted and think it is a waste of time.  Shakespeare calls sleep “the chief nourisher of life’s great feast.” Science tells us that sleep is a critical component of energy and health.  The big myth is that although you can teach yourself to sleep less, you cannot teach yourself to need less sleep.  Please read that sentence again. Your sleep needs are biologically determined.  If you get sleepy when you are bored, sitting quietly in a warm or dark room or when you are trying to read or listen to a lecture you are sleep deprived. Boredom does not cause sleepiness. Getting less than seven hours of sleep has the following huge health consequences.

Follow these 5 Health Reasons to Get More Sleep*

1.      Obesity in adults and kids. The shorter the sleep the greater the obesity measured by body mass index (BMI) By age 27, if you sleep less than 6 hours you are 7.5 times more likely to have a higher BMI. (Getting to bed sure seems easier than depriving myself of food or being on a diet.)

2.     Increased appetite. Sleep debt increases your appetite due to lower levels of leptin, a hormone  that decreases your appetite and higher levels of the hormone ghrelin a peptide that stimulates your appetite. (Weight gain is not about willpower ; rather your environment and getting yourself to bed.)

3.     Diabetes. Adults who sleep less than five hours were 2.5 times more likely to have diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance, compared to adults who slept seven to eight hours. (Working in health care for 30 years all I can say is that diabetes is an ugly disease that affects your entire body..avoid it if you can..and you can at least try to avoid it.)

4.     Immune dysfunction. Sleep less than 5 hours or less increases mortality risk by 15 percent. (I have not worked so hard to not live happily ever after in retirement. How about you?)

5.     Cardiovascular disease and hypertension.  Five hours or less was associated with a 45 percent increase risk of heart attacks and strokes.  An elevated risk was also found with sleeping nine hours or more. (The big problem I see with heart attacks is that often the first sign IS the heart attack. No thanks! I want to pass that one up!)

When I ask coaching clients if they had one wish what would it be? They reply, “I wish I didn’t  have to sleep.” I don’t know about you but if sleep can help you avoid all of these huge disease risks and you don’t have to even sweat, use your brain, or be busy it seems like a no brainer to me to get yourself to bed. If you don’t make the decision to take the time for sleep and rest and recovery it may be made for you in the way of a health challenge or crisis. In the meantime wake up and don’t forget to sleep!

*Source: Sheryl Brown, Wellcoaches® News. www.wellcoaches.com