When it comes to health, diet and exercise are often discussed, but the importance of getting enough sleep is often overlooked. In fact, not getting enough sleep can have a significant impact on your physical and mental health. As such, spreading awareness about the risks of sleep deprivation is incredibly important.

What are the Dangers of Sleep Deprivation?

A lack of sleep can cause a variety of physical and mental health issues, including memory problems, depression, an increased perception of pain, and a weakened immune system, which can make you more vulnerable to getting sick. This is because sleep is required to help with the brain recuperation process, metabolic regulation, memory consolidation, emotion regulation, and more.

A lack of sleep can lead to potentially dangerous issues and situations while you’re awake that can include the following:

• Your hand-eye coordination and reaction time can suffer, making it more difficult to perform work-related tasks or to drive safely. In fact, studies have shown that sleep-deprived individuals performing hand-eye coordination tasks perform as poorly or even worse than individuals who are intoxicated.
  
• According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driver drowsiness contributed to 633 deaths in 2020 alone.

How Much Sleep Should You Get?

The effects of not getting enough sleep carry over and accumulates, leading to long-term effects. This is called sleep debt, which refers to the amount of sleep that you need to make up for what you haven’t gotten. With that in mind, it’s essential that you sleep enough every night consistently. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) recommends the following sleep schedule:

• Adults: at least seven hours.
• Teens (13-18): eight to 10 hours.
• Children (six to 12): nine to 12 hours.
• Children (three to five): 10 to 13 hours.
• Children (one to two): 11 to 14 hours.
• Infants: 12 to 16 hours.

Sleep Is Essential To A Healthy Life

Getting enough sleep is crucial to living a healthy lifestyle. If you’re suffering from sleep deprivation, speak with your doctor in California. For more health tips,  be sure to visit us at The Benefits Store today.