Let go! Relaxxzzzz!!!

The annual World Sleep Day intended to be a celebration of sleep and a call to action on important issues related to it, including medicine, education, social aspects and driving. It is organised by the World Sleep Day Committee of World Sleep Society (founded by WASM and WSF) and aims to lessen the burden of sleep problems on society through better prevention and management of sleep disorders.

This year the theme is ‘Sleep Soundly, Nurture Life’

Short-term health impact

Increase stress: Researchers examined two groups of healthy young adults who had to perform an impromptu speech and complete a test that measured reaction times to colors and words. The catch? One group was allowed to sleep the night before, while the other had to stay awake all night long. The sleep-deprived group experienced more severe stress in the face of these fairly simple tasks and exhibited increased blood pressure.

Impair concentration: A review of 70 studies on the effects of sleep deprivation found that the most largely affected area was simple attention. For example, sleep-deprived subjects who were asked to press a button each time they saw a light flash had trouble focusing and missed more of the light flashes than their well-rested counterparts.

Disturb mood: Anyone who has felt irritable after a poor night’s sleep understands the profound the connection between sleep and mood. Research shows that sleep-deprived people have a much stronger tendency to classify neutral images—such as pictures of ordinary household objects—as “negative,” whereas people who slept the night before labeled them “neutral.”

Long-term health impact

Heightened risk factor for diabetes: Too much sleep can be as bad for you as too little. People who regularly get less than six hours or more than nine hours of sleep each night are both faced with an increased risk for Type 2 diabetes.

Increased risk for breast cancer: A survey of breast-cancer patients found a strong association between shorter sleep patterns and recurrence of tumors. This suggests that women who don’t sleep enough each night (less than six hours) have an increased risk for more aggressive cancer.

High blood pressure: There is also strong link between short sleep duration and hypertension, as well as a connection (though not as significant) between too much sleep and hypertension.

Decreased immune function: According to the Mayo Clinic, people who don’t sleep enough each night get less protection from flu vaccines and are more likely to catch the common cold.

Depression: Insomniacs and others who don’t get adequate sleep each night are ten times as likely to develop major depression as those who sleep through the night. Because depression also has a negative effect on sleep patterns, this can create a cycle that is hard to break.

Obesity: The rising rate of obesity seems to parallel the tendency to sleep, prompting a Harvard study to investigate. The results were surprising—brain scans of sleepy adults showed that they were less likely to distinguish between high-calorie and low-calorie foods. This can lead to overeating and making poor food choices in general, which contributes to obesity.