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Sometimes it actually states how few hours you slept that night. Whether as a teenager, to show how exciting the party life is, or as a professional, to prove how much you work and achieve. But not getting enough sleep can cause massive physical damage!
It is not for nothing that sleep deprivation is a form of torture that has been used since the Middle Ages and, unfortunately, still today. But what exactly happens to our body when we don't get enough sleep?
17-year-old Randy Gardner took part in a scientific experiment in the 1960s in which he was kept awake for 264 hours (11 days). After just 24 hours, he could no longer focus properly or feel things with his hands. On the third day, he became moody and uncoordinated. Eventually he got problems with his short-term memory, his concentration (for example, he got a math problem and stopped in the middle because he forgot what he was doing), became paranoid and even hallucinated.
After he went back to his regular sleep rhythm, all of this normalized. But not sleeping enough in the long term also has long-term and dangerous effects! Because cell repair takes place during sleep - if the body has no way of doing this, this can have serious consequences - from premature skin aging to various diseases or a reduction in our brain performance.
It starts with a bad mood, poor concentration, reaction and learning abilities and a decline in memory. Inflammation, high blood pressure and hormonal changes occur later, and chronic lack of sleep can also lead to diabetes and severe obesity. The likelihood of a stroke also increases by as much as 450 percent. Too little sleep can even be fatal!
How Much Sleep is Enough?
Adults should lie in Morpheus' arms for 7-8 hours, adolescents 9-10 hours, children 10 hours, toddlers 11-12 hours and infants even 16-18 hours. Seniors also need 7-8 hours, but often wake up at night - so an extra nap during the day is ideal.
And did you know that there is also an ideal time to go to bed? The best time to go to sleep
