sleep question

[psyko1]

I wasn't sure where to put this but i was wondering what the long term effects of being on 4-5hrs of sleep 5 days a week would be.

[lookin 4 juice]

The Dangers of Long Term Sleep Loss

Everyone has the occasional sleepless night. However, long-term sleep deprivation studies suggest that chronic insomnia increases the risk of a number of health problems, and heightens the likelihood of accidents.

Driver Fatigue

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, over 100,000 automobile accidents a year are caused by driver fatigue: a number that includes over 1,550 dead and 71,000 injured. Accidents caused by tired drivers may actually be much higher: determining whether fatigue played a role in a crash is difficult.

The fewer hours of rest you get, the greater your chances are of being the cause of a car accident. Young adults, parents of small children, and shift workers are among the highest risk groups for driver fatigue. You stand the highest chance of falling asleep at the wheel on long highways while traveling at high speeds.

Research studies have concluded that driving while sleepy is as detrimental as driving drunk. According to researchers in Australia and New Zealand, people who went seventeen to nineteen hours without sleep operated their vehicles worse than people with blood alcohol levels of greater than 0.05 percent—the legal limit in most western European countries. Most of the US has a legal limit of 0.1 percent, with a few states at 0.08 percent.

Impaired Glucose Tolerance

Sleep deprivation studies at the University of Chicago discovered that sleeping shortages quickly alter the body's ability to regulate glucose and produce insulin, mimicking the symptoms of impaired glucose tolerance. After a week of sleep deprivation, otherwise healthy test subjects took forty percent longer than normal to regulate blood sugar levels. Both insulin production and the body's response to insulin fell to thirty percent below normal.

Although adequate rest restored the test subjects’ scores to normal levels, the test suggests that impaired glucose tolerance as a result of sleep loss could eventually lead to diabetes, obesity and hypertension.

Personal Costs

Lack of sleep causes more than physical health problems. The moodiness and irritability that accompany chronic sleepiness affect job performance and personal relationships. Interpersonal conflicts become more common, causing stress that can further interfere with normal rest patterns.





Heartburn and Ulcer Complications

The pain of an ulcer or the presence of heartburn can affect nighttime rest. When a person lies down, gravity favors the leakage of acidic stomach contents upward towards the esophagus.

Consistent acid reflux (the back up of gastric juices into the esophagus) is called gastroesphageal reflux disease (GERD), and the ensuing heartburn can wake people throughout the night. More seriously, long-term acid reflux causes esophageal inflammation that can result in scarring and even asthma. If you are consistently awakened by heartburn, consult your doctor.

Hypothyroid Conditions

Hypothyroid conditions can mimic sleeping problems, but require specialized medical treatments. The term hypothyroid means that the thyroid gland is underactive. Both physical and mental functions suffer if hypothyroidism is present. The fatigue that accompanies the condition appears similar to the weariness associated with insomnia. Other symptoms include:

sensitivity to cold
weight gain
depression
joint or muscle pain
pale skin color
brittle fingernails
slow speech.

Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome may be dismissed as lack of sleep. The two conditions, however, are poorly understood diseases that cause sleep disturbances. Chronic fatigue syndrome is characterized by a complete lack of energy, making even minor tasks difficult. Not even restful sleep restores energy levels.

Fibromyalgia causes sleeping disturbances, chronic pain and exhaustion. The disorder may be caused by a dysfunction in the central nervous system. Both disorders should be ruled out if fatigue symptoms seem out of balance with the amount of nightly rest achieved.

www.sleep-deprivation.com/html/dangers.php3

[JUICE]

for me i gotta get my 7-8 hours of rest to wake up feeling good. If i get 5 hours, i feel like crap and if i get more than 8 hours i feel like shit too.

[lookin 4 juice]

Originally posted by JUICE
for me i gotta get my 7-8 hours of rest to wake up feeling good. If i get 5 hours, i feel like crap and if i get more than 8 hours i feel like shit too.

Definitly.... for me to have a good day i have to have a good amount of sleep... 5 hours wont cut it.... it throws everything off when i dont get much sleep at night... then i take a nap in the middle of the day and i dont go to sleep later til like 2am cause im not tired... and so on and so on. Its a vicious cycle.

[JUICE]

Originally posted by lookin 4 juice
Definitly.... for me to have a good day i have to have a good amount of sleep... 5 hours wont cut it.... it throws everything off when i dont get much sleep at night... then i take a nap in the middle of the day and i dont go to sleep later til like 2am cause im not tired... and so on and so on. Its a vicious cycle.

yup, im the same way bro. It sux:(

[psyko1]

Originally posted by JUICE
for me i gotta get my 7-8 hours of rest to wake up feeling good. If i get 5 hours, i feel like crap and if i get more than 8 hours i feel like shit too.

me too. unfortunately sleep is a luxury i won't have for a while.

[JUICE]

Originally posted by Ace0419
Ironically, I'm even MORE tired when I sleep too much. That's weird, eh?

yup, ive gone as much as 12 hours and i feel like if i went for a night of drinking:(