SNaC Bytes

Balancing the demands of family, friends, work and life in medal

general can be challenging, and unfortunately sleep is often one of the things to fall by the wayside. Given the latest research, it is time to rethink your decision to go with the "less is more" theory when it comes to sleeping. Skimping on your shut-eye can wreak havoc on your body, from gaining weight to shortening your lifespan. Here are seven important reasons to put eight hours of sleep at the top of your to-do list.

Weight:

When you regularly deprive yourself of sleep, two hormones that help regulate your appetite called leptin and ghrelin get out of whack, causing you to feel hungry even when you have had plenty to eat. A study of almost 10,000 American adults aged 39-42 discovered that sleeping less than seven hours a night significantly increases your chances of being obese.

Blood Sugar:

Insulin is an important hormone that shuttles sugar out of the blood and into the cells. Insulin resistance, caused by several factors, can lead to the development of diabetes among other things. New research shows that getting just three nights of poor quality sleep can lead to insulin resistance. Findings of a recent study show that restricting quality sleep to four to six hours a night can create a pre-diabetic state in as little as one week.

Immunity:
Feeling anxious about the H1N1 virus? One of the best ways to prevent colds and the flu is getting enough sleep. A recent study monitored patients exposed to a cold-containing virus to see if there was a connection between a lack of sleep and lowered immune resistance. There was a connection. Those who got less than seven hours of sleep were three times as likely to come down with a cold.

Heart Health:
A five-year study measuring arterial calcification, or hardening of the arteries, among middle-aged adults found a correlation between hours slept and arterial calcification. Those who slept five hours or fewer a night developed 27% calcification over five-years. Compare that to 6% for those who got more than seven hours a night.

Memory and Learning:
Did you ever pull an all-nighter in college only to do poorly on your exam the next day? Sleep researcher, Matthew Walker discovered that sleep helps the brain retain what it learned the day before, improving both learning and memory. According to his research, at least six hours of sleep are needed to have a memory-enhancing effect.

Breast Cancer:
Researchers suspect the connection between sleep and cancer is the hormone melatonin, which is secreted during the nightly sleep cycle. Previous studies showed that women who have the highest levels of melatonin have the lowest risk of cancer. A large study of over 20,000 Japanese women found that women who slept six hours or less a night had a 62% higher risk of developing breast cancer than those who got seven hours on a regular basis.

Lifespan:
Lucky number seven is that getting enough sleep may help you live longer! A study tracked the sleep habits and mortality of 7,000 Americans over a nine-year period. Data shows that those who slept 6 or fewer hours were 70% more likely to die than their peers who slept 8 hours.

Bottom Line: The average American slept eight hours in 1960 and by 2008 that number dropped to 6.7 hours. Sleep is not a luxury, it is a necessity. So when it feels like you don't have enough hours in the day, remember that eight is great when it comes to a healthy, happy and good night sleep.

Source: adopted from The Wellness Advisor, Fall '09/Winter '10.