Sleep Deprivation Health Consequences - A Natural Approach to Healthy Sleep Habits

It is widely known that 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep per night is needed to ensure we can function efficiently during the day and to ensure we all have a good quality sleep. But what does it mean if we do not get a full 7-9 hours or your sleep is disrupted? The consequences of disrupted or lack of sleep could be both short term and long term on the body.

Approximately 40% of Australian adults are regularly experiencing inadequate sleep and 48% have at least 2 sleep-related problems. Inadequate sleep is not only affecting adults, it is also affecting adolescents where 27% of 12-13 year olds and 52% of 16-17 year olds are not meeting the recommended sleep guidelines of 8-10 hours of uninterrupted sleep per night on school nights. The importance of good quality sleep is cannot be undervalued as the financial, emotional and physical cost on both people and the economy is detrimental.

One of the consequences of less than 6 hours of sleep duration per night is the increased risk of ischemic stroke, high blood pressure and heart disease which may lead to death. There has been a noticeable relation between shift workers and reduced sleep per night.

Another study has found that a sleep duration of less than 5 hours of sleep per night can result in increasing the risk of obesity by 150% and also results in an increase in diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance.

Another long term consequence of lack of sleep that is widely observed in night shift workers is the development of particular cancers - breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and prostate cancer. Women who were able to sleep more than 9 hours per night were able to show a decreased risk of developing breast cancer.

Healthy Sleep Habits

There are multiple factors that need to be considered to ensure that optimum sleep quality is achieved: consistent sleep schedules, reasonable sleeping and wake times, sleep quality and sleep length.

In order to maximise sleep quality, lifestyle changes may need to be implemented throughout the day to streamline the night process:

There are also natural supplements that can be utilised as an approach to sleep deprivation:

Taking the above supplements at the recommended dose will assist in the following:

To conclude, the potential consequences of lack of and disrupted sleep can be detrimental to the human body, though these consequences can be avoided with some daily changed. There are many techniques that can be utilised to maximise sleep quality and length, each individual will find that different combinations of these tools will work for them. It is most important to ensure you are consistent with your routine to gain the maximum benefit.

References:

Bair, J.L. (2018) 'Healthy Habits to Reduce Sleep Deprivation in College Students', Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology, 13(2). doi:https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1156&context=intuition.

Healthy sleep habits (2022) National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. Available at: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep-deprivation/healthy-sleep-habits (Accessed: 2024).

Luyster, F.S. et al. (2012) 'Sleep: A health imperative', Sleep, 35(6), pp. 727–734. doi:10.5665/sleep.1846.

Mead, M.N. (2008) 'Benefits of sunlight: A bright spot for human health', Environmental Health Perspectives, 116(4). doi:10.1289/ehp.116-a160.

Medic, G., Wille, M. and Hemels, M. (2017) 'Short- and long-term health consequences of sleep disruption', Nature and Science of Sleep, Volume 9, pp. 151–161. doi:10.2147/nss.s134864.

Sievers, M. (2023) 11 effective bedtime routines for adults, Casper Blog. Available at: https://casper.com/blog/bedtime-routine-for-adults/ (Accessed: 2024).

Sleep problems as a risk factor for chronic conditions. Available at: https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/7e520067-05f1-4160-a38f-520bac8fc96a/aihw-phe-296.pdf.aspx?inline=true (Accessed: 2024).