It’s been drilled into most of us from an early age. “Be sure to get enough sleep.” But do we get adequate sleep? Today, we look at the effects of sleep on our bodies and tips about sleeping.
As Olivia DeLong writes for Sharecare:
“It’s a fact: Americans have trouble with sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation’s 2018 Sleep Health Index, which is done quarterly, 41 percent of Americans said that poor or insufficient sleep had affected their daily activities at least once in the preceding seven days.”
“And when it comes to the type of trouble many of us are experiencing, sleep expert and clinical psychologist Michael Breus, PhD, thinks that most people deal with either acute or long-term sleep deprivation as opposed to complete sleep deprivation. In other words, most people are getting less than the recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night over the course of one or more days rather than not getting any sleep at all.”
“The lack of sleep affects everyone differently. And researchers don’t fully understand the short- and long-term effects of too little sleep. But the benefits of regular sleep are very much understood. Dr. Breus says there are three different areas of concern when we talk about sleep deprivation after acute or long-term sleep deprivation: emotional, physical, and cognitive. Here’s what you can expect after one or more nights of poor sleep—plus what you can do to improve your sleep.”
Click the image to view a slide show.
