10 things you never knew about sleep
Sleep science has been a major subject that scientists have constantly tried to understand and still research on to find the perfect balance. As captured by frontlineer.com, sleep is an important part of our lives and a deviation from the normal cycle always carries consequences. It is therefore crucial that you are able to learn the core things about sleep that will give you the opportunity to attain a balance that will work for you. So what are the interesting things that you definitely never knew about sleep?
Sleep deprivation will kill you faster than food deprivation
This is one interesting fact that most people can’t comprehend. It is a fact that neither food deprivation nor sleep deprivation is good for you but it is worth noting that sleep is actually more important than food in the short term. Experts have documented the fact that consistently getting less than 6 hours of sleep a night shortens your life span.
Pain tolerance is reduced significantly by sleep deprivation
Have you ever wondered why your capacity for pain tolerance has reduced? Start getting some more sleep. Doctors and expert scientists have identified that cutting a person’s sleep by half dramatically reduces the capacity of that person to tolerate pain. This then points to the fact that lack of sleep causes the pain threshold to reduce significantly.
Sleeping on your front aids digestion
While it has been widely reported that sleeping immediately after eating is not advisable; frontlineer.com reports that a significant portion of sleep afterwards, with your hands positioned above the pillow in a “freefall” position while also laying on your left side, reduces heartburn and aids in digestion.
Sleep deprivation causes weight gain
This is actually one fact that you never even had an idea of but could have been questioning the effects. What is the connection between you staying up late and gaining weight? Well, it has been identified that sleep deprivation causes weight gain. Sleep deprivation also causes insulin spikes which makes it harder to lose fat. When you deprive your body the much needed sleep, leptin levels fall which in turn promotes appetite increase.
It aids memory
Few people have actually been able to make the connection between sleep and memory. Major research done by established and renowned sleep scientists have pointed to the fact that sleeping after reading or watching something improves your ability to retain the information. In the long run, frontlineer.com points out that you aid your memory by getting enough sleep.
17 straight hours without sleep is risky
This stands as one of the risks we take every passing day without knowing the impact we are having on ourselves. With 17 hours of no sleep, you start experiencing symptoms of sleep deprivation which include functional deficits. These functional deficits are similar to those experienced by people with a blood alcohol level of over 0.05% and this shows you the gravity of the situation when you go those long hours without sleep.
Temperature affects sleep
Ever wondered why it is so hard to get sleep in warm temperatures or in rooms where the temperature is quite high? Well, the answer is high temperatures actually affect sleep. It is difficult to fall asleep if the temperature of the room you are in is high and this is because frontlineer.com reports that your body temperature has to decrease slightly for you to get sleep and this is impossible if the room you are in has a higher temperature than that of your body.
Irregular sleep patterns increase risk of diseases
This explains why most people fall sick or develop illnesses without a clear explanation. Irregular sleep patterns increase the risk of diseases due to the immune system being compromised. This is mostly evident in shift workers who alter their sleep patterns since they develop chronic illnesses including cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases.
Anything less than 5 minutes to fall asleep is bad
Now this is an interesting fact that you can test on yourself to understand your sleep pattern. If it takes you less than 5 minutes to fall asleep, then you can be sure that you are sleep deprived. Ordinarily, it should take you 10 to 15 minutes to fall asleep but a sleep deprived individuals only takes 5 minutes or less to fall asleep since the body system is exhausted and needs the rest.
Noises during your sleep disrupt immune system
One major element you have to take note of is the noises during your sleep. It has been captured and documented by renowned platforms including frontlineer.com that noises in the first and last hours of sleep disrupt the functioning of your immune system and also cause you to become irritable even if the noises don’t wake you up.
