People who regularly deprive themselves of a good night’s sleep may be doing much more than missing out on rest; habitually missing out on sleep (chronic sleep loss or CSR), can negatively affect the metabolic rate, and severely handicap the body’s hormone production capability. Worse, CSR may make certain conditions associated with aging; memory loss, type 2 diabetes obesity and high blood pressure (to name a few) progress far more rapidly than in individuals who maintain a healthy sleep regime.

Chronic sleep loss is also suspected of causing the onset of these conditions to occur far sooner than in individuals without CSR. Studies indicate that regular sleep loss over just a one week period can significantly change hormone production and curb the body’s carbohydrate metabolism capacity. The body’s ability to adjust to limited sleep may increase CSR as the sleep deprived individual becomes accustomed to functioning without proper rest.

Researchers discovered that blood sugar levels in males who were subjected to sleep deprivation took an average 40% longer to decrease after a carbohydrate rich meal than their properly rested counterparts. The ability of these subjects to secrete the blood sugar regulating hormone insulin was reduced by a factor of 30%. These sharp differences are similar to symptoms of insulin resistance; a sign of the onset of type 2 diabetes. Male sleep deprivation study subjects also exhibited larger nocturnal concentrations of cortisol, a hormone which makes crucial contributions to the regulation of blood sugar, as well as significantly smaller levels of key thyroid stimulating hormones. Significant evidence indicates that raised levels of cortisol may contribute to both the memory loss and insulin resistance of old age. Finding these levels in young, sleep deprived males suggests again, that sleep deprivation unnaturally speeds the aging process.

Lack of sleep is similar to stress. Much of the existing research in sleep deprivation considers only the effects of CSR on the brain, but could sleep have more purposes than just the cognitive? The researchers of the aforementioned studies found that hormone levels and blood sugar amounts returned to normal upon once more being allowed adequate amounts of sleep. Previous studies have concluded that in the 1st world, the duration of the average amount of sleep has been reduced to 7.5 hours per night in contrast to the average of 9 hours at the turn of the century.

More often than not, modern individuals forgo sleep in pursuit of increased work or relaxation time. Sufficient time for sleeping is equally as critical to well being as prosperity and physical fitness. Getting good night’s sleep is not a luxury; it is essential. Get your rest!