Your lack of sleep may be the result of a grave underlying and undiagnosed health risk. By knowing how sleep affects your health and well-being, you can take steps to ensure you are getting enough high-quality, restorative sleep.

This article addresses how sleep affects your health and wellness, the definition of sleep deprivation and deficiency, why you need to rest, how much sleep you need, what you can do to improve your sleep, and when to call a doctor.

How Sleep Affects Your Health and Wellness

• Heart disease
• Kidney disease
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Stroke
• Mental health disorders
• Heightened levels of stress and anxiety
• Obesity

Your alertness, ability to react, and awareness of your environment are also severely impaired when you become sleep deficient.

What Is The Difference Between Sleep Deprivation and Sleep Deficiency?

Sleeping is an essential human requirement, like water, breathing, and eating. Combined with other basic human needs, sleeping helps form a solid foundation for consistent good health and well-being throughout one’s life. Sleep deficiency can lead to physical and mental health problems, among many others.

Sleep deprivation occurs when you do not get sufficient sleep. Sleep deficiency occurs when one or more of the following repeatedly causes loss of sleep:

• You are unable to sleep (Insomnia)
• You aren’t getting enough sleep (sleep deprivation)
• You are not sleeping long enough to run through the various types of sleep your body requires
• You have a sleep disorder or other condition keeping you from sleeping well
• You sleep at the wrong time (or out of sync with your body’s internal clock or circadian rhythm)

Besides related health issues, sleep deficiency can severely interfere with your ability to work efficiently, function socially, complete tasks at school, and drive safely.

Why You Need to Sleep

Your mental health, physical health, quality of life, well-being, and longevity all depend in part on your ability to regularly get enough quality sleep, at the right time, and intervals. The following are some of the benefits of getting regular, restorative sleep:

• Helps your brain and body recover from daily stress
• Improved decision making and performance
• Fuels feelings of optimism and well-being
• Enables you to stay alert for more extended periods
• Helps you to better interact with people
• Helps your body stave off disease
• Helps your muscles heal after strenuous activities.

While setting out to live a healthier, more productive life, the sleep you get will become more vital to your health and well-being. This will become evident as your everyday stressors and responsibilities increase, and as you age.

How Much Sleep Do You Need?

The amount of sleep a person needs varies from one to another. However, according to MedilinePlus, most adults require between seven to eight hours of sleep per night. In fact, some may require up to nine hours per night.

What can I do to get better sleep?

Sometimes, better quality sleep can be achieved by making some subtle modifications in your daily and nightly routines:

• Establish and adhere to a regular sleep schedule. Go to bed at the same time every night and get up every morning at the same time for both weekdays and weekends.

• Maintain your bedroom in a cool, dark, and quiet state.

• Avoid eating or drinking (especially sugary foods and drinks, alcohol, and food with high-fat content) within a few hours of your scheduled bedtime.

• Get some sun. Add a morning or lunchtime walk to your daily schedule.

• As you approach your bedtime, refrain from using computers, smart/IOS phones, and other devices that produce artificial light, or stimulate you to stay awake.

If the above modifications do not produce longer periods of more restorative sleep, consult your primary care physician or healthcare team to identify potential medical conditions. They can also help you identify other obstacles between you and a good night’s sleep.

When Should You Call A Doctor?

You should contact your primary care physician or healthcare provider when:

• You frequently feel tired during the day
• Lack of sleep impedes you from focusing on tasks
• When lethargy makes everyday activities difficult to accomplish
• When you frequently wake up feeling depressed or anxious
• When you experience prolonged periods of insomnia
• Whenever you feel that anything is wrong

Your lack of sleep may be a symptom of an underlying condition that may worsen as your inability to sleep persists.

Sleep and Health

In this article, you discovered how sleep directly affects your health and wellness, the definition of sleep deficiency, why and how much you need to sleep, how to improve your sleep, and when to seek medical advice.

By establishing a better sleep routine consisting of more restorative sleep, you are aiding your body in preventing disease and illnesses.

By ignoring your irregular sleep schedule, you risk increasing your chances of severe medical conditions, injuries, and accidents.

Sources:
healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/need-sleep/whats-in-it-for-you/health
nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/sleep-deprivation-and-deficiency
medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000871.htm
cdc.gov/features/sleep-heart-health/index.html