It is not unusual to find someone around the corner who boasts of sleeping a few hours a day leaving the rest of the others in awe. Little we do fathom; sleeping less than required will not guarantee productivity or bring some supersonic transformations in life.
In a digital world where it is much easier to stay up with online and social media distractions, bit by bit, we are bartering with our quality and quantity of sleep and to worsen it, we are normalising this lack of sleep behaviour.
A popular custom of keeping a ‘sleep debt’ is maintained on an everyday basis; later to be compensated with a weekend sleep. However, this weekend's sleep won’t cover up for an individual night’s sleep and the debt keeps on piling. Hence, it is this sleep deprivation that we carry along which is sometimes mistaken for tiredness or exhaustion.
According to the International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD-3), insufficient sleep is defined as a curtailed sleep pattern that has persisted for at least three months for most days of the week, along with complaints of sleepiness during the day.
Even more, the alarming concern is rising sleep deprivation among adolescents and women.
While children are made to follow a certain bedtime by parents when adolescence peeks in, teenagers need more of their charge over deciding their sleep timings and periods.
Combined with school assignments, activities, and projects that keep them up for late hours of the night the loop of sleep deprivation keeps going.
Likewise, women are unable to get quality sleep due to household chores, work-home balance taking care of kids, or when nannies go off duty.
Napping frequently in the day hours or not being active throughout the day also hinders the quality of night sleep.
Up till now, it might be ticking within you how to determine the amount of sleep one needs on an everyday basis so that he or she is not counted as a sleep-deprived being.
Well, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend, “The right amount of sleep can vary from person to person, but that adults get at least 7 hours each night. They also estimate that 1 in 3 adults do not get enough sleep”.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and the Sleep Research Society (SRS) have recommended that adults aged 18 to 60 years should sleep seven or more hours per night regularly for ideal sleep health.
Additionally, the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) consensus report has stated that seven to nine hours is recommended for adults aged 18 to 64 years, while seven to eight hours is suggested for those 65 years of age and older.
Moreover, it goes without saying that chronic sleep insufficiency terribly affects your immune system, cardiovascular system, hormone levels, fertility, and brain functioning.
Sleep is also a congruent factor in maintaining your metabolic health, thereby influencing weight gain, obesity, and diabetes.
Wherefore along these lines, while taking care of your health and lifestyle, make sure you are not being sleep deprived.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
