In class we learned about sleep and the effects it has on your health. We talked about the stages of sleep and multiple types of sleep disorders. I thought this topic was interesting because we learned specific statistics of how being sleep deprived really affects your life. For example, that people who averaged less than 7 hours of sleep a night were three times more likely than those who averaged 8 hours to develop a cold. Also, students who get sleepy during the day have a three times higher risk of depression. This impacts my life because I am a student who also feels the stress of trying to get everything done in a days time while also getting enough sleep. This lecture helped me see that having better time management can help me get more sleep. This topic is important to public health because if everyone got enough sleep it would improve the health of the community. If everyone knew how being sleep deprived could impact their life they might try harder to fit sleep into their busy schedules.
One remaining question I had about this topic is what affects sleeping too much could possibly have on your health? Is getting too much sleep equally as bad as not getting enough?
The facts you provided are really interesting. Pertaining to your question, I researched a bit online. I read that although a good night's sleep is essential for health and the amount of sleep you need varies for each person, oversleeping has been linked to a number of medical problems including diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and depression (webmd.com). There are a lot of factors that go into it, but I think overall too much of a good thing is not good for you.
ReplyDeleteSleep is forever on my mind so your article caught my attention. During the school year, I get at most five ours of sleep which is far from seven. And as I am typing this, I am battling with a cold. Ironic. However, during a non school year, I can sleep up to ten hours and still feel tired afterwards. So I do believe that too little and too much can negatively affect your health. I agree that time management plays a key role in getting enough sleep. I really feel that if people could manage their time better or if there is more hours in a day, then everyone would be getting a good night's rest.
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