✨ New Year Savings 🎉| Save $400 Today

1 in 3 Adults Don’t Get Enough Sleep

by Michael Johnson

| Updated April 15, 2024 |

Table of content:

Side Effects of Lack of Sleep
Mental health
Physical health
Immune system Behavior
Performance Healthy Sleep Tips
Study Finds
Conclusion
Reference

The research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that a third of Americans lack sleep because they do not get the required 7-8 hours every day. This is an urgent problem that should be resolved rapidly, since deprivation of sufficient rest can have devastating effects on one's health status.

In summary, if you don't have enough time to relax during your sleeping hours at night, there are chances that you might end up suffering from diabetes, obesity, and other chronic diseases.

To promote optimal health and wellness, those aged between 18-60 must sleep for at least seven hours per day, as noted by American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society. However, in this article, we will discuss some side effects that come with no sleep first then after which we will discuss tips on how to improve our sleeping habits.

Let's get right in.

One in three adults don't get enough sleep

Photo from ISHN

Side Effects of Lack of Sleep

It’s a no-brainer that you would have met with a lot of friends and colleagues who say they have learned to get by through the day on little to no sleep at all, and they feel perfectly fine with no single negative effects on them. However, it has been proven through various research that having a nice quality sleep at the right moments plays a significant role in one’s physical health, mental health, safety, and quality of life.

Mental health

No sleep means constant depression, “mood swings,” and anxiety. It also lowers the basal body temperature. You would find it quite difficult to control your mental alertness and get a hold of yourself.

Physical health

Not sleeping at the right moment brings up a huge probability of having injury as an adult, or teenager, or even as a child.

Immune system

Sleep deprivation may weaken your immune system which fails to build up its forces thereby exposing the body to different infections.

Behavior

This can interfere with work, school, driving, and social functioning. You might have trouble learning, focusing, and reacting.

Performance

The symptoms of sleep deficiency may differ between children and adults. Children who are sleep deficient might be overly active and have problems paying attention.

Photo from NIH

Healthy Sleep Tips

If you would like to take your sleeping habit a notch higher, there are some tips worth noting; by getting enough rest each night, you will realize an extraordinary enhancement in your productivity levels during the day, and you will appear more rejuvenated and happier.

Let’s take a look at some of the tips you could follow;

Stick to a regular sleep plan
Healthcare providers should make sure to inform their patients about the significance of getting sleep.
If you're still awake, after 20 minutes, in bed it's time to get up. Do something quiet that doesn't expose you to a lot of light. Extra care should be taken not to use gadgets.
Set up a relaxing routine for going to bed.
Medical practitioners must consistently carry out checkups on their patients’ sleeping habits.

Study Finds

Researchers saw a decrease in the Healthy sleep timespan among Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders; for the non-Hispanic blacks, it gave 54 percent, 60 percent was from the American Indians/Alaska Natives, and the multiracial non-Hispanics got a 54% decrease compared with Hispanics (66%), non-Hispanic whites (67 percent), and Asians (63 percent).
The frequency of healthy sleep duration showed significant differences among states.The percentage ranged from 56%, in Hawaii to 72%, in South Dakota.

Conclusion

If you're having trouble sleeping during the day it might be an idea to consult with your doctor to explore strategies for improving your sleep quality.

Reference

1.Aha. “Study: 1 in 3 Adults Don’t Get Enough Sleep | AHA News.” Www.aha.org,

2.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. “Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency - What Are Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency? | NHLBI, NIH.” Www.nhlbi.nih.gov, 24 Mar. 2022,

3.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. “Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency - Healthy Sleep Habits | NHLBI, NIH.” Www.nhlbi.nih.gov, 24 Mar. 2022,

4.Troy, David. “Healthy Sleep Habits.” Sleep Education, American Academy of SLeep Medicine, Aug. 2020,

Article by

Michael Johnson

I am Dr. Michael Johnson. I am dedicated to providing the best medical care to my patients. In my spare time, I enjoy sharing medical knowledge with a broader audience. Writing has become a major hobby of mine, allowing me to express my passion for medicine. I particularly enjoy writing health-related articles, aiming to provide readers with practical medical advice and information. Through my writing, I hope to help more people understand how to stay healthy, prevent diseases, and better understand medical knowledge.