Chronic sleep loss contributes to a variety of health problems, such as weight gain, reduced memory consolidation and strength, high blood pressure, and an increase in stress hormone levels.
Sleep deprivation also alters immune function, including the activity of the body's killer cells. Our bodies require long and uninterrupted periods of sleep in order to restore and rejuvenate, to grow muscle, repair tissue, and synthesize hormones. We are actually healing while we sleep - which is why LMT Chris always advises his clients to get plenty of rest after a massage.
Studies have even shown that keeping up with sleep may also help fight cancer. Of course, sleep loss also affects our mood! Too little sleep can make us irritable, impatient and result in an inability to concentrate.
While awake, a chemical called adenosine builds up in our blood, and while we sleep, our bodies break it down. Skimp on sleep and adenosine builds up in our bloodstream, making us more desperate to snooze during the day. This means reaction time slows, making us more prone to dangerous mistakes for example while driving. Shortage of sleep is to blame for about 100,000 traffic accidents, 76,000 injuries, and 1,500 deaths a year!
Now that we know the risks of sleep loss, next week, we will learn how to improve our sleep health and how to pay off “sleep debt” for those of us who have been depriving ourselves for too long.
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