People who can get by on four hours of sleep sometimes brag about their strength and endurance. But recent scientific studies show that a lack of sleep causes many significant changes in the body and increases your risk for serious health concerns such as obesity, disease, and even early death.
Healthy sleep is critical for everyone, since we all need to retain information and learn skills to thrive in life. But this is likely part of the reason children—who acquire language, social, and motor skills at a breathtaking pace throughout their development—need more sleep than adults. While adults need 7-9 hours of sleep per night, one-year-olds need roughly 11 to 14 hours, school age children between 9 and 11, and teenagers between 8 and 10.During these critical periods of growth and learning, younger people need a heavy dose of slumber for optimal development and alertness.
Unfortunately, a person can’t just accumulate sleep deprivation and then log many hours of sleep to make up for it (although paying back “sleep debt” is always a good idea if you’re sleep deprived). The best sleep habits are consistent, healthy routines that allow all of us, regardless of our age, to meet our sleep needs every night, and keep on top of life’s challenges every day.
The 44 Most Important Sleeping Lessons:
1. You need 7-9 hours of sleep every NIGHT.
2. When you sleep UNDER 7 hours, the brain becomes damaged and this damage is even measurable.
3. Only 1% of the world’s population has a gene that allows them to survive without only 5 hours of sleep. The probability of you being struck by lightning is greater than the probability of having this gene.
4. When you sleep UNDER 6 hours, the time from Recovery to Exhaustion during the day shortens by 30%.
5. The ability of collecting O2 and releasing CO2 in your lungs decreases.
6. The study found that the probability of having an accident for those who slept for 5 hours increased by 60% compared to those who slept for 9 hours.
7. Light pollution destroys sleep quality. Humans are very hungry quality shadows.
8. The less sleep, the longer the life expectancy. Lack of sleep increases the probability of premature death for many causes (All-cause mortality)
9. The nature of alertness is that the brain is low-level brain damage. Sleep is the mechanism to repair this damage.
10. During deep sleep, there is a system that removes and releases all metabolic toxins in the brain that you accumulate throughout the day.
11. One of the toxins is Beta-amyloid – which causes Alzheimer’s disease. The less you sleep, the more toxins accumulate and cling to.
12. Lack of sleep increases the risk of prostate cancer, breast cancer, diabetes. WHO ranked Night shift into group 2A – Cancer risk (Only after group 1)
13. An American sleeps an average of 6 hours 31 minutes. This figure was 7.9 hours in 1942.
14. The number of people who can survive for less than 6 hours of sleep per day is 0.
15. After 14 consecutive days of sleeping under 6 hours, your cognitive performance (cognitive performance) decreases deeply and does not tend to stop.
16. Every 30 seconds, there is a car accident involving a lack of sleep. Drowsy driving kills more drivers than alcohol and drugs combined.
17. One study found that schools changed school hours from 7:35 to 8:55, reducing 70% of the accidents in the previous year. Classes should be delayed later.
18. Another school changes the school hours from 7:25 am to 8:30. The average SAT score increased by 212 points.
19. A person who sleeps 4 hours a night found that the number of anti-cancer cells in the body decreased to 30%.
20. In North America, in the spring, changing time zones, people take 1 hour to sleep. Heart death rate increased by 24%. In the fall, in exchange for the time zone, people add 1 hour of sleep. Heart death rate decreased by 21%.
21. The study showed that if sleeping for 6 hours / night continuously for 7 days, 711 genes were deformed. Half of those genes become hyperactive, increasing the risk of tumors and inflammation. Half of the remaining genes are repressed, reducing immunity.
22. Lack of sleep deprives an average of 2% of GDP. In the US, this number is 411 billion USD. If the battle for sleep deprivation is won, the United States can double its budget for education and cut the Health budget to half.
23. If you are on a weight loss diet, but lack sleep. 70% of your weight loss comes from MUSCLE, not from fat. The body becomes resistant to losing fat without sleep.
24. An hour of phone use before bed slows down melatonin production (causing drowsiness) by about 3 hours, and the maximum melatonin production drops by 50%.
25. Humans are the only animals on earth that restrain sleep. Mother nature has never had an evolutionary solution to human sleep deprivation. In other words, this is something that goes against nature.
26. During sleep, the brain uses old information, combines it with newly learned information and creates a connection between the information. This is why you may find a new solution to a problem that previously seemed impossible to solve.
27. Regularity is important, going to bed and waking up maintains the same time each day.
28. 1 hour before bed, do not use any device with a monitor. Turn off most lights 2-3 hours before bed.
29. Keep the room cool (slightly cold) than warm (hot). Brain temperature decreases by 2-3 degrees Celsius during sleep.
30. Warm hands and feet before bed to move blood from one area to another. The author recommends wearing socks and gloves before bed or taking warm baths before bed.
31. When you take a warm bath, the blood vessels dilate (vasodilation) and the blood is more concentrated than the surface area. Then you step outside, the temperature drops and becomes perfect for sleeping.
32. Don’t go to sleep when you’re too full or too hungry.
33. A diet high in sugar and low in fiber is not good for sleeping. Deep sleep is reduced and your sleep is more fragmented.
34. You can take Melatonin to support sleep if you fly between different time zones. Once you get used to the new time zone, melatonin becomes less effective. But it also has no harm.
35. Naps have no effect on restoring lost sleep => THIS IS IMPORTANT.
36. Most doctors only have 2 hours of sleep school training.
37. Ask the sleeping surgeon how many hours in the past 24 hours. Because if less than 6 hours, the rate of serious surgical mistakes increased by 170%.
38. Hospitals – where patients most need sleep, are usually noisier than at home.
39. If you do not get enough sleep, you lose the opportunity to structure and strengthen the long-term memory of what you have just learned.
40. Do not nap after 3 pm.
41. Don’t drink alcoholic beverages before bed => Many people do the opposite to help them sleep.
42. Creativity exists thanks to previous sleep.
43. Older people need less sleep is a myth (myth). They simply lose their ability to sleep because of many factors.
And finally in this summary. What I think is enlightenment to me the most.
44. Sleep is not like a bank so you can borrow and repay. If you lack sleep one day, you lose it permanently and cannot recover.
