How unhealthy is not sleeping?

I usually fall asleep at around 6 in the morning and I wake up at 7:30

 

Of course it's bad to not be sleeping enough, everything from hypertension, diabetes, stress, lack of attention, falling asleep while driving, etc. suggests that sleep deprivation is a causative factor.

It's the quality of the sleep that's important, it's also about ritualizing the process toward going to bed, turning off the TV or computer one hour before bed helps tremendously, not eating too soon before bed also helps.

There's been some fascinating research on sleep patterns in the times before gas lamps and electricity. People then described a "first sleep" after which they awoke late at night or early in the morning, followed by a "second sleep" after which they awoke in the morning. Modern experiments have replicated these natural light conditions and people eventually and quite naturally fall into this same 2-sleep pattern.

It may well be that the combination of artificial light and expecting to sleep a full and uninterrupted sleep lasting 7-8 hours is erroneous...I don't know anyone, myself included, who can sleep that long...

 

There has been research done into this very issue and the results were that 'ENOUGH' sleep isn't a consistent thing and it varies from person to person and age to age.

It is normal to have 5 hours sleep and feel refreshed, in fact a majority of people have an average of 5 hours sleep a night.

 

I'm at my best with 7 or 8 hours. An 11 pm to 6 am "shift" is ideal. I can feel it if was only 5 or 6 hours. Any less than 5 hours and I'm not that happy the next day. Red-eye flights, where you think you've gained an extra day of vacation, are an illusion - I spend at least 4 to 5 hours in bed as soon as I can check in. I have been prescribed Ambien and, in the beginning, it worked flawlessly - a true wonder drug. After some time, it takes a while, sometimes a long while, for it to kick in.

I knew sleep depravation could cause poor concentration, irritability, stress, and depression, but didn't know the link extended as far as hypertension and hyperglycemia. I wonder what systems it damages, and in what way, to cause the latter two.

 

Yeah, 8 hours might be a good guideline but it's not going to be the same for everyone.
Generally if you are going to sleep and then waking up naturally (i.e. not being woken prematurely by an alarm or noise or something) then you have gotten enough sleep.

 

Considering you can die without sleeping It's probably in between breathing and wondering whever Justin Beiber has a penis or not in Importance

 

As the others have said, there's no absolute rule for what is enough. But if your personal need isn't being met, you won't be at your best physically or mentally. I know when I get less than 7 hours I generally feel like crap, even as much as feeling my creativity as being drained.

That's right, lack of sleep can induce writer's block.

 

Well you can't really think, so you can't be creative cause you can't think about what to write/draw

 

Everyone's need for sleep is different. If you get 5-6 hours of sleep and wake up feeling rested, that's fine. If you find yourself feeling tired or sleepy a lot, though, you may want to work on getting more sleep. Basically, listen to your body. It'll tell you how much sleep you need.

 

I have the same thing Muscle Heals, I only get around 3-4 hours of sleep and I am tired a lot of the day but not to the point of me becoming grouchy or a zombie :lol: Each person is different, but it is 100% needed for every human to get some sleep.

 

If I get less than 5 hours of sleep, I'm dizzy and moody. Too bad I have trouble sleeping.

 

I can't explain it in detail here, but in general: it's the impact on various hormones and other regulators and repair processes in the body (for example, cortisol and melatonin). Those things work in a particular balance that you should not disrupt. If you look up studies on cortisol and obesity, for example, you can read about the connections. Same for melatonin and cancer.

Also, studies suggest sleep deprivation is cumulative -- if you miss 1 hour every night for 5 days, you are 5 hours short and have to make it up. Going to sleep an hour or two early one night is not enough. The total you need will vary, but whatever it is, your body keeps track. You can't cut corners on this.

I'm not a medical expert in this or any area, but I work in medical research and have also looked into sleep matters for personal reasons.

 

Something called Sleep Debt:

Can You Catch Up on Lost Sleep?: Scientific American

From personal experience I can attest to this. I wasn't getting enough rest over the last few weeks and then finally I had an uninterupted day off yesterday and I slept till 11:30 am . . . lazily got up, went for a few mile run, came back home, slept for a couple more hours, got up, hit up the book store and grocery store, then went home and was in bed by 10 and got up around 9:00 am today. I probably got around six hours of extra sleep yesterday which I hope has started to make up for my deficit lol

 

^ Thanks for the article link. And welcome to EC!

 

You need to sleep...You seem to be aware of the side effects already, but an adult should get 7-9 hours of sleep on average per night. Have you ever thought about going to see a doctor about this? Maybe you have insomnia and you need some nightcap. You could also try taking melatonin before you go to bed, as a legal alternative to sleep aids.

 

i've had insomnia for years. i sometimes fall asleep during the daytime and i get tired but unless were sick we sleep until you get better

 

Cumulatively, it is both distressing and dangerous. A therapist told me that long-term insomnia without REM sleep can lead to psychotic behavior. I don't know if it's true, but it can definitely make someone whacko.

Thank God for sleeping meds. You build up some resistance, but initially the work stat. Now, it takes me longer to fall asleep with the meds, but wouldn't get a good night's sleep without them. Granted, it's better not to take medication, but if you have to ...

I have had a split sleep cycle at times. On a weekend, you can sleep in and work around it. On a work day, that second wave of sleep is distressing because the quality of the sleep might be very good just as they have to enter their car or board a train or bus.

 

Hello, it seems most of the effects of sleep deprivation have already been covered in the comments above. There seems to be so many different views on how much sleep to get and how much we need etc. Everyone is different and as mentioned above the average is between 7-9 hours for an adult. However, I find myself sleeping between 5-7 hours per night and I begin feeling run-down near the end of my working day which is 3pm to midnight.

I read about this thing called the Ubermans Sleep Schedule which I found very interesting. It basically comprises of having six naps per day between 20-30 mins long each. So three hours sleep over 24 hours. I won't go into details, but apparently it can work and leave you with lots of free time and as long as you keep to the schedule you won't tire. This article explains it in more detail - Uberman's sleep schedule || kuro5hin.org

I only mention this as an example of how varied sleeping patterns can be. I would say as long as you don't find yourself tiring, falling asleep outdoors etc, then you're getting enough sleep. However if you're convincing yourself you can stay up and just "get on with it" the next day, you're not fooling your body, you will suffer. My advice is if you don't have any pressing matters to attend to, then your PC or mobile can wait till the next day. Just switch off distractions and go to sleep.

 

Research on the topic seems to be somewhat equivocal, but I'd say you can't go wrong by sleeping 6-8 hours a night. That's what the majority of people need. Not sleeping enough could put undue stress on your body, and that could have all sorts of consequences, ranging from exhaustion to cancer.