Health Briefs reports that, according to the CDC, there
is a new epidemic ravaging America: lack
of sleep. In a chart from the National
Sleep Foundation that outlines the amount of sleep that would be ideal for
people of each age group, the only ones who seem to be getting their proper
amount of sleep are babies. Children in
school and adults are usually not getting the 9-11 hours the chart calls for. Besides a grumpy disposition and difficulty
concentrating, the ill effects of insufficient sleep can run the gamut of
threats to one's overall health. The
list of health issues that can be brought on or severely exacerbated by lack of
sleep includes obesity, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, depression, heart
attack and stroke, as well as premature death.
And even if one merely considers the dangers of poor concentration, one
could be looking at automobile accidents, industrial disasters, medical errors
and the mishandling of other occupational obligations.
Health Briefs cautions that sleep is not in the category of "nice to have", but is vital to our health and safety.
The Health Briefs TV show has learned that 28 percent of
American adults report getting less than six hours of sleep each night. It's long been thought that sleep is when the
body repairs and rejuvenates itself in order to be ready for another day. Researchers have found support for that idea,
in that this is when metabolic waste is eliminated from the brain. If the cycle of this cleansing is not
completed, we enter the next day literally with the garbage of the previous day
still in our systems. Expecting to catch
up with brief naps later on never does properly reset the body to the state it
needs to achieve. For those who have the
time to sleep but difficulty getting and staying asleep, suggestions for
improving sleep patterns involve consistency of sleep time, getting enough
exercise and avoiding caffeine and alcohol if possible.
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