Sleep and health are closely related to each other. Sleep deprivation can affect your physical as well as your mental health. A six to seven hour of good sleep is necessary to stay fit and healthy. If your lifestyle or work pressure does not allow you to sleep in the fix or the recommended pattern it can lead to many health risks, which can be dangerous for short time as well as long time. So, today are discussing your sleep how long you need to sleep and the health risk of not sleeping.

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How Much Sleep do you Actually Need to Avoid Health Risk of not Sleeping?

Well, we all feel better after a good sleep rest and sleep plays an important role to stay fit and healthy. But now, thanks to a report from the National Sleep Foundation, you can aim for targeted hours of sleep according to your age. The sleep hours breaks into nine age-specific categories with a range for each, which allows for individual differences:

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However, there’s evidence that various genetic, behavioral and environmental factors can help to determine how much sleep an individual needs to get better health for their daily performance.

But, for all, at least seven hours of sleep is a way in the right direction to improve your health.

Short Term Health Risk of Not Sleeping Properly?

Your doctor always asks you to get enough sleep for a good reason. Shorting yourself on shut-eye puts some negative impact on your health in different ways:

Here are some common short term health risk of not sleeping properly:

Lack of Alertness: Even if you are missing sleep of around 1.5 hours can have an impact on your alertness.

Impaired Memory: Less sleeping hours can affect your ability to think and to remember and process information.

Relationship Stress: Sleep deprivation can make you feel moody, and you can become more likely to have conflicts with others.

Quality of Life: You may become less likely to participate in exercise or normal daily activities.

Car Accidents: Drowsy driving is a cause of thousands of crashes, injuries, and fatalities each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

These are some short term health problem of not sleeping, If you continue to operate without enough sleep, you may see more long-term and serious health risk. Some of the most common and serious problems linked with chronic sleep deprivation are high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, heart failure or stroke.

Chronic or long term sleep deprivation can even affect your appearance. Over time, it can lead to dark circles under the eyes and premature wrinkling.

Long Term Health Risks of Not Sleeping

According to various studies, not getting enough sleep is linked to chronic sleep problems to higher risks for serious health conditions such as:

Heart Disease: Insufficient sleep can lead to elevated blood pressure, one of the major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Immune Function: Substances which are produced by the immune system to fight infection also contribute to fatigue, so people who sleep longer have been shown to recover more quickly.

Obesity: People who sleep lesser than 6 hours during the night are more prone to have a high body mass index (BMI) because according to research insufficient sleep upsets the hormonal balance that helps to control appetite and metabolism.

Diabetes: Type 2 diabetes is one of the more common problems of sleep-deprived people. It is due to slower processing of glucose that occurs in those with normal sleep.

Depression: Chronic sleep issues have been linked to depression, anxiety, and mental distress.

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Lifestyle Changes for Better Sleep:

However, the treatment is required for the most common sleep problem. But fundamentals lifestyle changes may help to improve your sleep pattern:

Lifestyle Changes.

We know that caffeine contributes to sleeplessness, but so can alcohol and nicotine. It initially depresses your nervous system, which helps some people fall asleep, but the effects wear off in a few hours and people wake up.

Physical Activity.

Regular physical activity helps people fall asleep faster which help to spend more time in deep sleep and awaken less often during the night.

Sleep Hygiene.

Good “sleep hygiene” is the term which is generally used to include tips like maintaining a regular sleep-and-wake schedule, use of bedroom only for sleeping or sex, and keeping the bedroom dark and free of distractions such as the computer or television.

Relaxation Techniques.

Meditation, deep breathing exercises, guided imagery, and progressive muscle relaxation can counter anxiety and racing thoughts.

How Long Can You Go Without Sleep?

The longest time recorded of sleeplessness is around 264 hours or just over 11 consecutive days. Well, it’s unclear exactly how long humans can survive without sleep, it isn’t long before the effects of sleep deprivation start to show. After just three to four nights without sleep, you can start to hallucinate.

Conclusion:

As we all know at least 6 to 7 hours of sleep is important, but this information is not enough to follow the sleep pattern. Sleep hours vary for a person of different ages we should start trying to follow these to stay fit, healthy and avoid the health risks of not sleeping. If you are dealing with the sleep deprivation then you should consult a doctor as soon as possible.

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