Sleep: Benefits, issues and problems

Sleep is a classic mind-body connection: If you don't get enough sleep, both aspects suffer, often dramatically.

Our bodies are regulated in sleep cycles by what is called the circadian rhythm, basically an internal clock that, when functioning normally, lets our body know when it's time to get up and when it's time to go to sleep. When you keep irregular hours, or when you stay out late and then sleep in to catch up, you can interfere with these rhythms and make it more difficult to get quality sleep.

Want to learn anything better or more easily? Studies confirm the more well-rested you are, the better you'll do.
Want to remember things in general or remember what you've just learned? Sleep on it.
Sleep study volunteers needed at least 6 hours to show any improvement in learning, and those who slept 8 hours performed better than those who slept 6 or 7 hours.
Lack of sleep has been shown to lead to faulty decision-making and increased risk-taking.
In one study, women who slept less than 7 hours a night were more likely to develop diabetes than women who slept between 7 and 8 hours.
In another study, healthy young men who slept only 4 hours a night for six nights in a row had blood sugar levels that mimicked people who were developing diabetes.

The lack of sleep and a lack of quality sleep can take a real mental and physical toll on our health and wellness. How many people do we know (including ourselves) who report being cranky, out-of-sorts or flat-out unhappy when they haven't gotten a good night's sleep? Sleep also brings your heart rate and blood pressure down for extended periods, giving your body the recovery time it needs. While we are sleeping, our bodies also secrete hormones that help regulate and affect our memory, energy, mood and ability to concentrate.

There is research that suggests that continuous sleep deprivation may increase the severity of age-related conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes, as well as reduce metabolic and endocrine functioning. Another recent study indicates that sleep-deprived people perform about the same as intoxicated people on tasks requiring driving and hand-eye coordination.

It seems strange, then, that as a society we sometimes wear lack of sleep as a badge, or as a sign that we didn't sleep in order to "get more done," when the evidence seems to point toward actually getting less done and getting it done less effectively. See our Tips for Better Sleep for some helpful advice on improving your sleep quality.