This is important, because otherwise the consequences could be serious. If you are one of those nocturnal beings that thinks that with 5 hours of sleep per night you will be fine, stop for a moment. You might be able to do it, but it is not healthy.

Work that drags on until the early hours, endless traffic jams, doing sport, spending time with the family, time to watch one more episode… Where has my day gone?
We need 48-hour days and we tend to cope with this by sleeping fewer hours.
It is recommended that children sleep between 10 and 11 hours per night, adolescents 9 hours, adults 8 and senior citizens between 6 and 7 hours.
But, with our fast pace of life, as much as we try, there is always going to be something that takes away from our sleep time.

Today we’ll have a look at the consequences of sleeping less, to make us more aware of the importance of getting enough sleep.

More infectious diseases
Sleeping well is generally a symptom of good health, as not enough sleep increases the risk of getting infections because our bodies’ natural defences weaken.

Cardiovascular conditions
Blood pressure decreases while we sleep and, if we don’t get enough rest, our heart rate alters, which increases the likelihood of endocrine and cardiovascular illnesses.

Weight gain
If you are one of those people who prefer to do exercise in the morning to start the day with energy, then your’re doing the right thing. But make sure that it doesn’t take away from your sleeping hours. Otherwise, an increase in insulin resistance occurs and with it comes weight gain. What’s more, the tireder we are, the worse we eat as we tend to increase our intake of fat and sugar.

Less productivity
Although we have the feeling that we have accomplished more by staying up late, in the long run, this makes us less productive.
A decrease in sleeping hours implies a significant loss of cognitive skills and a reduction in concentration, memory and capacity to respond and prioritise or solve specific problems.

Nerves on edge
The truth is that when we don’t get enough sleep we feel irritable, our reactions can become more extreme and our social relations start to suffer. A lack of sleep makes the emotional areas of the brain 60% more active, which makes us more aggressive and susceptible.

We age faster
Our skin regenerates during the night, so too little sleep makes our bodies dehydrate and the signs of age start to appear. But it’s not only the outside that ages, the inside is also affected, because some of the brain’s functions start to age faster, too.

So, postpone everything you can, and get a good night’s sleep.