Often times, in our pursuit of career security, and in a bid to avoid financial debt, we end up working long hours and piling up a different kind of debt – sleep debt.
According to Wikipedia, “Sleep debt or sleep deficit is the cumulative effect of not getting enough sleep. A large sleep debt may lead to mental or physical fatigue. There are two kinds of sleep debt: the results of partial sleep deprivation and total sleep deprivation.”
The term ‘sleep debt’ might sound humorous but its consequences are not. Chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, depression, obesity, cancer, increased mortality, and reduced quality of life and productivity, are just a few of the drawbacks of owing sleep.
What then is the required amount of sleep? According to Sleep health journal, the recommended amount of sleep for young and older adults is 7 to 9 hours.
Everyone, at some point or the other, has been on the table of sleep debt and for those still on the table, it’s time to get off and head to bed to get some needed sleep. Your body will thank you later. Here are the benefits of having a well-rested lifestyle:
You’ll learn better
A sleep debtor usually finds it difficult to focus optimally and therefore cannot learn efficiently. Multiple studies have shown that sleep has a role in strengthening memory, which is essential for learning new information.
According to research done in Harvard medical school, “adults who get enough sleep do better on short term memory tests. The researchers had adults do a task once, allowed them to get a good night sleep, and then try the task again. They showed significant improvement in the second task. However, participants who stayed awake 30 hours after learning the same task had a much tougher time improving their skills – even if they practised and had a chance to catch some recovery sleep later. Something about the initial sleep deprivation impaired their ability to learn.”
You’ll be healthier
Sleep is very essential for your physical health. For example, sleep helps in the process of healing and repairs your heart and blood vessels. This is why one of the products of long term sleep debt/total sleep deprivation is heart problems. According to a Mayo Clinic report, lack of sleep can affect your immune system adversely: “People who don’t get quality sleep or enough sleep are more likely to get sick after being exposed to a virus, such as a common cold. Their recovery times are similarly linked to sleep or lack of it.”
You’ll look better
If you want to look your best, sleep your best. In a 2013 study, participants were kept awake for 31 hours to prove that sleep deprivation really does take its toll on the appearance. Lack of sleep leads to unflattering physical effects like swollen eyelids, inflamed eyes, dark circles under their eyes, wrinkles, acne and droopy corners of the mouth. “The results show that sleep deprivation affects features relating to the eyes, mouth, and skin and that these features function as cues of sleep loss to other people. Because these facial regions are important in the communication between humans, facial cues of sleep deprivation and fatigue may carry social consequences for the sleep-deprived individual in everyday life.”
Sleep can make you slim
Skipping sleep leads you towards making unhealthy decisions. It slows down activity in the brain’s frontal lobe, the locus of decision-making and impulse control. Based on a sleep deprivation study, Dr Hensrud of the Mayo Clinic highlighted how repeatedly getting insufficient sleep can lead you to crave high-calorie foods over healthier choices. “Women who slept less than six hours a night or more than nine hours were more likely to gain 11 pounds (5 kilograms) compared to women who slept seven hours a night.”
You’ll work better
Whether you are an artist, athlete or working a 9-5, sleeping is essential. World star athletes like Roger Federer and LeBron James get between 11 to 12 hours of sleep daily to boost their training and performances. In 2007, editor in chief of the Huffington post passed out from sheer exhaustion on her desk which led to her breaking up her cheekbone and requiring six stitches under her right eye. This accident woke her up and helped her redefine her work schedule. Currently, she has a compulsory daily 8 hour sleep regime which she chronicles in her book. Like this study says,” If you aren’t sleeping, you’re putting your career at risk.”
