What Happens To Your Body If You Sleep Less Than Six Hours A Night

According to numerous studies, adults need an average of seven to nine hours of sleep each night. However, the reality is that many people sleep much less than that. A 2023 study even found that getting less than six hours of sleep a night can reduce the body’s immune response to vaccines. In addition, chronic sleep deprivation can have numerous consequences for your body. While you sleep, your immune system produces protective substances that fight infection, such as cytokines. It uses these substances to fight foreign invaders like bacteria and viruses. “These cytokines also help you sleep, giving your immune system more energy to protect the body from disease. This reduces the body’s response to infection, so if you don’t get enough sleep, you don’t produce enough of these magical cytokines. This increases our susceptibility to illness, and it can take longer for you to recover from illness. Unfortunately, one can make the other worse. Furthermore, anticipatory anxiety and sleep-specific anxiety can lead to sleep disorders and insomnia, which then create a feedback loop that can make both conditions worse.” Anxiety can negatively impact your body’s ability to sleep, as your brain is in ‘fight or flight’ mode, thinking about all the possible outcomes of whatever is causing the anxiety. Research has also found that a lack of sleep can make us feel sad. This can lead to a reduced ability to stay positive when faced with emotionally challenging events. Have you ever wondered why you feel hungry after a bad night’s sleep? While we sleep, hormones like cortisol, leptin, and ghrelin are regulated – hormones that are important for weight control. Lack of sleep lowers the levels of these hormones in the blood, so long-term sleep deprivation increases appetite, overeating, and weight gain. Obesity is also more likely in those who don’t sleep well. If you don’t get enough sleep, you’re much less productive during the day. A US study found that employees who slept an average of five hours a night missed 2.22 workdays per year, compared to 1.48 days for those who slept eight hours. Research shows that people who sleep less are at greater risk for cardiovascular diseases, such as hypertension, stroke, and heart attack. There is also an increased risk for diabetes and other chronic diseases.

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

read more