When You Get Less Than 7 Hours Of Sleep, This Is What Happens To Your Brain And Body

Dec 14, 2018

A study released by the CDC in 2016 found that one out of three Americans gets fewer than seven hours of sleep every night. Another third described the quality of their sleep as poor. It's become commonplace.

Even Elon Musk has admitted that working 120-hour weeks was wearing him down to the point where friends were expressing deep concern.

Many people think that they will make up the sleep later on. Or, they can survive on fewer hours. There is a small percentage of people who can sleep a few hours per night and be perfectly fine.

However, the majority need at least seven hours of sleep every night to wake up ready to go in the morning. Some even need eight or nine hours. Dropping below seven hours of sleep can have serious health consequences. 

Various studies have linked sleep deprivation with an increased risk of both colon and breast cancer. Poor sleep patterns can also cause chronic skin problems because the body cannot heal the skin properly when a person is exhausted. Chronic skin problems such as this are also linked to mood and sleep disorders because the sun cannot repair it as normal.

Sleep deprivation can also cause secondary factors which negatively affect mental health and well-being. Nature Communications conducted a study that showed sleep loss directly contributes to social withdrawal, isolation, and loneliness. These all cause sleep problems, which only feeds chronic sleep deprivation.

It doesn't matter if you are an adult or a student. A lack of sleep seriously affects how well you engage with new processes and lessons. Simply delaying school start times for students can significantly increase the scores they received on tests and other work.

Studies have also found that sleep deprivation has a profoundly negative effect on adult short-term memory. Adults have a hard time picking up new skills or even remembering words when they are sleep deprived. Long-term sleep deprivation can actually change the structure of the brain, especially the part involved with long-term memory. It boils down to this: When you sleep properly, your memory will improve.

There are also physical effects of sleep deprivation. People who don't get enough sleep have higher blood pressure levels, which, in turn, increases the risk of heart disease. Being overly sleepy can lead to a loss of sex drive and function. Several studies have shown that sleep time is when the body goes through a cleaning process. During the cleansing process, the body removes a beta-amyloid protein that gets built-up during the day. That protein is linked with Alzheimer's disease.

Being sleep-deprived also interferes with the ability of the immune system to do its work. Your body movements will not be as precise as normal. Your reaction times will be slower. You will be more irritable. You will not be able to see as clearly as usual.

So, get a good night's sleep, consistently. Your body and your mind will thank you.

Let us know what you think. Do you get enough sleep? Let your friends read this for themselves to see if they should be getting more shut-eye, too!

Our content is created to the best of our knowledge, yet it is of general nature and cannot in any way substitute an individual consultation by your doctor. Your health is important to us!