sleep deprivation •

Enough sleep improves health.

(Mirror Daily, United States) – We all know that sleep is necessary in order to have a healthy life. However, only recently have scientists established the benefits of enough rest and the consequences of sleeping only a few hours every day.

Recent research from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine has shown that infants from 4 to 12 months need 12 to 16 hours of rest every day, including naps, whereas children 1 to 2 years need 11 to 14 hours of rest every 24 hours, naps included.

Furthermore, children with ages between 3 to 5 years need 10 to 13 hours of sleep every 24 hours, while children from 6 to 12 years need 9 to 12 hours. Last but not least, teenagers with ages from 13 to 18 years need between 8 and 10 hours of rest every 24 hours.

However, scientists did not establish how much rest is necessary for babies younger than 4 months, because there is not enough research and there is a broad range of sleep patterns regarding newborns.

According to Dr. Lee Brooks, consensus paper author and attending pulmonologist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the benefits of enough rest include better overall quality of life, emotional regulation, memory, learning, attention span, and behavior.

Nevertheless, if children do not meet the adequate number of sleep hours for their age, the consequences include depression, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, more injuries and several other health problems.

Worse, teens who rest only a few hours every night have a higher risk of suicidal thoughts and self-harm. According to Wendy Sue Swanson, a pediatrician at the Seattle Children’s Hospital and The Everett Clinic, more than 85 percent of teenagers do not sleep enough. Unfortunately, tiredness and deprivation affect interactions, mood, attention, schoolwork, and lead to a high risk of unhealthy weight.

It is also worth mentioning that too much sleep can also affect our lifelong habits and the daily routine. On the other hand, the biggest problem of today is the exposure to video screens, because light stimulates the state of wakefulness.

Therefore, experts recommend parents to turn off all screens at least 30 minutes before their children go to sleep. All in all, we all need to rest in order to have a healthier lifestyle.

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Sleep is not overrated, it’s actually underrated.

(Mirror Daily, United States) – Coffee may help us stay awake while cramming for a last-minute exam or focus at work after a late night out with friends, but it does nothing when it comes to the chemical reactions that happen in our brains when it is deprived of its R&R. Scientists have found that sleep deprivation causes excessive hunger, which may lead to an increased BMI and other health problems.

A new small study that focused on the changes in the body’s chemistry when it is deprived of sleep concluded that sleep deprivation causes excessive hunger.

The lead author of the study in question, a research associate in diabetes, metabolism and endocrinology at Chicago University, Erin Hanlon, declared that his findings only add to the growing literature focused on the effects of sleep deprivation.

In order to reach his conclusions, Hanlon gathered a sample of 14 volunteers, most of them students at the University. He then divided the participants into two groups. The first slept a little more than eight hours, the second roughly four and a half hours.

The first phase of the experiment lasted four days. On the first three, the subjects were given three regular meals that had the daily caloric necessities. On the fourth, all of the volunteers were allowed to choose their meals.

Before and after every meal the volunteers were asked to complete a questionnaire that focused on their hunger levels, their cravings and their satiety.

Blood tests were made each day. And according to the results, the members of the second group, those who were sleep deprived, had more endocannabinoids alterations in their blood than those who benefited from a good night’s rest.

The elevated levels of ghrelin, also known as lenomorelin, or the hunger hormone, made the volunteers that only slept four hours significantly hungrier than the ones that allowed their brain a healthy amount of rest. The eight hours plus group had higher levels of leptin in their blood. Leptin is also known as the satiety hormone.

After a month of rest, the participants were called back, and the groups were changed. Those who slept eight hours the first time were now asked to sleep for four hours, and vice-versa. The results remained consistent.

Even though Hanlon’s study was small, it revealed the fact that sleep deprivation causes excessive hunger. An idea that was already circling the scientific community.

Image source: www.pixabay.com

Enough Sleep Equals Healthy Children

Sleep Deprivation Causes Excessive Hunger

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