Guest blog
Sleep is one of the necessities that all humans have, yet it is often overlooked by so many. According to recent sleep statistics, one in ten Americans suffers from insomnia. It is no wonder that between 50 and 70 million Americans have a chronic sleep disorder.
According to experts, the amount of sleep needed per day for each age group is as follows:
● Newborns (0–3 months): 14–17 hours.
● Infants (4–11 months): 12–15 hours.
● Toddlers (1–2 years): 11–14 hours.
● Preschoolers (3–5 years): 10–13 hours.
● School-age children (6–13 years): 9–11 hours.
● Teenagers (14–17 years): 8–10 hours.
● Adults (18 years and above): a minimum of 7 hours.
Signs That You Are Not Getting Enough Sleep
Problems with Acne
A lack of sleep tampers with the immune system and exposes you to a lot of diseases and sleep disorders.
According to Joshua Zeichner, an NYC dermatologist, during sleep, the rate of cell division increases, thus enabling skin repair. Also, there is a decrease in cortisol levels. A disrupted sleep pattern can result in elevated levels of cortisol that can trigger hormonal changes. Such changes can cause or make certain skin conditions even worse, such as skin inflammation and breakouts. Overproduction of cortisol causes the sebaceous glands to secrete extra oil, making the skin appear oilier than usual.
So if your skin appears puffy and is covered in red pimples, make sure you check how much sleep you have had recently.
Weight Gain
A lack of sleep is also associated with weight gain, as proposed by the National Sleep Foundation. According to experts, the less you sleep, the more likely you are to put on excess weight.
This may be due to a lack of sleep affecting the levels of ghrelin and leptin in the body. Ghrelin and leptin are hormones that are responsible for controlling your appetite.
Under normal circumstances, leptin decreases appetite, while ghrelin increases appetite. However, in cases where resistance to leptin develops, as seen in obese patients, there is a tendency to eat more, despite elevated levels of leptin. Also, obese patients have decreased levels of ghrelin, which is quite surprising because the opposite is expected.
Mood Swings
According to experts, a lack of sleep can lead to irritability, depression, and anxiety. Studies have revealed that people who are sleep deprived report an increase in negative moods (frustration, anger, or irritability).
Memory Problems
Research shows that sleep plays a critical role in the consolidation, or strengthening, of memory. This includes not just memories for events, but also recently learned skills. Furthermore, lack of sleep makes it difficult to pay attention, which could interfere with your ability to learn something new in the first place.
Check out the infographic below and read about more amazing stats related to sleep.
Mira Rakicevic, Disturb Me Not
Guest Blogger
Are you not getting enough sleep, and want to do something about that? You can book a free one-on-one consult with me!
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