Health Problems Associated With Poor Sleep

Health Problems Associated With Poor Sleep

A quality night's sleep will help you stay afresh at work the following day as inadequate sleep is associated with several distressing health issues that may come across as a surprise to you. The health issues have been addressed below along with a few tips on how to ensure you are getting a good night's rest.

Obesity

Research shows inadequate sleep can result in gaining weight due to several changes to your body. If you are not getting sufficient sleep then your body will decrease the production of a hormone known as leptin which assists with controlling cravings and supports the body to utilise energy.

Sleep deficiency leads to weight gain. Researchers have established that eating habits were altered due to sleeping late and this led to less healthy food being consumed.

This trend is ongoing according to the years of research. Those who sleep less than 6 hours a night are more probable to have a much higher BMI. It is believed that insufficient sleep takes away from the body's hormonal balance and contributes to little control over metabolism and appetite.

Heart Disease and Heart Attack

Sleep is obligatory for your heart to function at its optimum.

Various studies have found that poor sleep correlates to heart disease as research illustrates that those who slept the least had the most pestilent plaque build-up in their arteries which is an early indication of cardiovascular disease, thus increasing the probability of having a heart attack. Extraneous factors such as age, weight, whether they exercise frequently or smokers or non-smoker is irrelevant.

Increased blood pressure has been associated with inadequate sleep and consequently leads to more plaque clogging your coronary arteries over the period. So those individuals who get 6 hours of sleep or less have a 20% inclined chance of suffering a heart attack in comparison to individuals who get approximately 6-9 hours of sleep.

Diabetes

Insufficient sleep can also lead to diabetes. One of the most common types of diabetes resulting from insufficient sleep is Types 2 diabetes for those who get less than 7 hours of sleep. Middle-aged and older adults are more likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes if they do not get sufficient amounts of sleep.

Sleep is essential as it assists with regulating glucose and metabolism. Being deprived of sleep can result in rising cortisol levels, making your cells more immune to insulin.

Tips to gain a better night's sleep

Improving your sleeping pattern is quite simple and doesn't require much effort. A few tips to assist you with getting a good night's sleep are listed below:

• Limit blue light usage

Using a mobile phone, tablet, laptop can cause difficulty in sleeping and enter the state of rapid eye movement, also acknowledged as REM sleep. Blue light emitted from our screens can lead to blocking the release of melatonin in our bodily processes, meaning that you will fall behind your normal routine. So ensure you are not using your phone whilst in bed and at least an hour before sleeping. This will enable to you fall asleep faster.

• Have a plan

Plan ahead as to what time you want to be in bed and what time you want to wake up. This can be challenging when you have to work and manage a household, nevertheless, it is accomplishable.

• Take a bath

A warm and relaxing bath can boost the circulation of your blood and help with keeping you cooler at night. Taking a bath will prevent waking up midway through the night, providing an improved opportunity of completing all the stages of sleep. The bath does not need to belong, even 10-15 minutes will help relax and calm your body before bed.