Taking sleep lightly can be a big mistake as getting the right amount of sleep is essential to stay fit and healthy.
Sleeping is a natural function of the body which is as important as eating and should never be neglected. If you sleep too much or too little then definitely you will find it difficult to stay fit. For weight watchers, it is important to know the connection between lack of sleep and obesity.
It’s a vicious cycle: lack of sleep stimulates the secretion of hormones like ghrelin, which promote hunger and appetite, increasing a person’s risk of becoming obese. On the other hand, people suffering from obesity have trouble sleeping due to the blockage of the airways, which leads to breathing problems, which does not allow the body to stay healthy due to not getting enough rest.
Studies show that sleep deprivation, even a few hours of sleep deprivation, can cause serious problems for people’s health and undermine efforts to stay healthy. According to the National Institute of Health’s National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, just getting six hours of sleep a night increases a person’s chances of becoming obese by 23 percent. In addition, not sleeping more than four hours per night increased the risk to 73 percent.
According to a study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania Medicine in Philadelphia, sleeping less than six hours per night for just two weeks can significantly slow reaction time, memory and cognition, in addition to increasing your chances of obesity. Sleeping less than five hours will make it impossible to stay healthy because elevated levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that constricts the heart, can increase the risk of high blood pressure by up to 50 percent. This can lead to a weakened immune system, heart disease and stroke.
Sleep is a simple, natural action that can help us stay fit and healthy with the added bonus of preventing weight gain. It is time we understood that giving rest to our body when it feels tired is not a bad work ethic. Because on the contrary, we will never be productive when we are too tired to think straight.
Stop thinking that not sleeping today is good for your future because if you don’t rest, you won’t have enough tomorrow to enjoy.
Source by Fritz Ilagan
