Meaning of lack of sleep: The accepted recommendation for adults is to get about eight hours of sleep every night — but what happens when you sleep less? A new study published recently revealed that sleeping less than five hours is actually unhealthy and can make us sick.
Over 25 years, nearly 8,000 patients reported how many hours they slept each night. Researchers have found that getting less than five hours of sleep can lead to cardiovascular disease that damages the heart and arteries, neurological diseases like Parkinson’s, and joint disease. According to researchers, 50-60-year-olds who sleep less than 5 hours a night are 30% more likely to develop diseases – and it has already risen to 40% among 70-80-year-olds.
“It’s out of control, and I don’t tell myself, ‘Get up now,’ because I have to do something special,” says Bracha Markowitz, 73, of a life that doesn’t require hours of sleep. “I woke up and I’m alert, so there’s no reason for me to stay in bed.” Former US President Donald Trump also said that he sleeps between 12 am and 1 am and wakes up around 5 am.
“You have to remember that sleep is the third most important need for our survival after air to breathe and water to drink. We need to sleep to survive,” says psychologist and sleep expert Dr. Amit Green explained. “Many processes take place during sleep, including physiological processes such as the release of growth hormone during sleep. We know that people who sleep less often suffer from anxiety, depression, mental disorders, and cognitive impairments.
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