Dr. Lakshman Das

Sleep is an activity where you do nothing, but rest. You relax your body and mind, you rest your bones and muscles, and you rest your eyes after a long day of physical exertion. It is extremely necessary for you to get ample amount of sleep to stay healthy. 

Sleep has two component: REM sleep and non-REM sleep. Both are required insufficient duration for proper effective sleep. Most effective and healthy sleep time is between 10PM - 3 AM. Going early to bed and rising early helps you maintain a healthy body and mind. Otherwise, there are various problems which you might have to face if you are lacking sleep.

1. Elevates the risk of stroke: According to study, people who get less sleep are more prone to having strokes than those who get enough sleep. If you sleep for less than 6 hours every day, you multiply the risk of having a stroke four times than ordinary. 
2. Obesity: Lack of sleep can cause obesity. It usually forces you to take erratic food decisions, leading you to eat a lot of junk food. Less sleep administers certain hormonal changes which make you feel hungrier and believe that you haven't eaten enough food. The production of the hormone ghrelin, which controls your hunger, increases due to less sleep. Hence, it may lead to obesity if you keep eating without keeping a check on what you eat. 
3. Increases the risk of diabetes: Sleep and the production of insulin are inversely related to each other. Among teenagers, the less you sleep; the more insulin resistant your body becomes. This means the body is not able to use the insulin effectively. 
4. Increase the risk of hypertension: There is Blood pressure drop in deep sleep which is required for maintaining normal blood pressure. Patients who are hypertensive and not able to sleep properly will have more chances of having increased blood pressure despite taking medicines. 
5. Results in Poor Memory: Less sleep causes tiredness. When you are extremely tired, you are not able to focus on anything going on around you, you cannot concentrate on your work, and you get forgetful. In fact, consistent lack of sleep can even cause permanent loss of memory. This is because you are not being able to fully utilize the memory boosting ability of sleep. This eventually causes brain deterioration which results in permanent memory loss. 
6. Affects your Heart: Lack of sleep can have an extremely negative impact on your heart. Less sleep also causes stress and strain to your body and mind. It results in an increased production of certain chemicals and hormones in the body which is harmful for your heart. According to a study in 2011, people who sleep less than 6 hours every day increase the risk of having heart problems by almost 48%. It is not very healthy to sleep less as it can complicate your daily life activities. Sleep enough and stay healthy.

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