What sleep deprivation can do to your body

April 23, 2014  16:04

Even one week of sleeping fewer than six hours per night can lead to serious health issues, including the modification of over 700 genes, reports Huffington Post on a study published in PNAS last year. Other symptoms of chronic sleep deprivation include everything from bloodshot eyes to quadrupled stroke risk.

Humans need seven to nine hours of sleep per night to function properly.

Sleep deprivation can cause accidents, lower your intelligence, numb your sex drive, impair your memory and contribute to depression and weight gain. A survey in 2005 of 10,000 adults between the ages of 32 and 49 found that those who slept less than seven hours a night were significantly more likely to be obese.  

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people time their sleep requirements according to the following chart, "although there is no 'magic number' as individual sleep needs vary." These estimates should put you in a ballpark range of whether or not you're getting enough sleep.

Sleep

And here is an interesting infographic that shows what lack of sleep can do to your health:

What lack of sleep can do to you

Follow NEWS.am Medicine on Facebook and Twitter


 
  • Read also
 
  • Event calendar
 
 
  • Archive