What happens to the body if you sleep less than 5 hours a day? Somnologist answers

The first thing we sacrifice in the modern rhythm of megacities, when we realize that 24 hours a day is sorely lacking to achieve our goals, is sleep. Many experts and my mother say that it’s in vain. There is an established opinion that a person needs to sleep at least 8 hours a day. What if you simply don’t feel like sleeping? Together with an expert from Osteo Poly Clinic, a neurologist and somnologist Olga Begasheva

Let's figure out whether lack of sleep is so terrible and how many hours of proper rest are enough to restore the body.

How much sleep do you need?

The need for sleep is determined genetically, and on average it ranges from 5 to 8 hours. And in some cases, even 10 hours of sleep is the norm. Problems with falling asleep occur mainly in old age and are more common in women. By the age of 50, almost 40% of all women suffer from insomnia. And after 65 years, sleep disturbances no longer increase. An American survey of 70-year-olds showed that on average, if they have problems sleeping, they sleep only 6-7 hours, if not - 7.5 hours.

The need for sleep increases during periods of intense growth in children - this is the first growth spurt at 6-7 years and approximately at the age of 13-16 years. Long and healthy sleep is also necessary for athletes. During intense physical activity, a somatotropic hormone is needed, which is released in the first third of the night and affects the growth and development of the body.

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Sleep duration as one of the factors influencing its quality

How many hours should you sleep? The answer to this question is one of the most important parameters that determine the quality of sleep, which directly affects not only our well-being, but also our health in general.

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The second parameter is the degree of comfort of your sleeping place. Imagine that you spent the required 6 to 8 hours in bed, but at the same time you turned from side to side all night, trying to find the most comfortable position. Of course, good quality of sleep in this case is out of the question.

The third parameter is thermoregulation. If the air temperature around you during sleep is uncomfortable, you are too cold or too hot, you will also not be able to get a good night's sleep.

Thus, such a dream will not bring any health benefits. What to do if this is exactly the case for you?

Pay attention to the arrangement of your sleeping place - whether the mattress, pillow and all the accessories that are also necessary for this are selected correctly. You can choose the most suitable mattress models for yourself in the Ecomily catalog

. In addition, on our website you can ask all your questions.

What happens to the body during sleep?

Sleep is the same altered state as wakefulness. It is essential for recovery, for immunity, for growth, for memory. But the most important function of sleep is the preservation of a person as an individual: memory and images. At this time, our inner self is restored and rested.

An experiment was conducted: a competition was held among the subjects to see who would stay awake the most nights. Unfortunately, during the experiment, the person who, by the way, won, gradually began to go crazy. It was an irreversible condition. Since then, such experiments have been prohibited, but the results of the study have proven that sleep is the main function of restoring not only the body, but also the internal state. This is a very important psychological aspect.

Another important point concerns circadian rhythms. The fact is that according to the “internal clock”, from about one to three in the morning the stomach is restored - this is its biologically active time, from 3:00 to 6:00 - the intestines, in the morning the adrenal glands are actively turned on, cortisol is produced. And, naturally, those people who abuse sleep disorders and have a deficiency of it, end up with health problems.

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What are the dangers of lack of sleep for a person?

Lack of sleep is fraught with many dangers, both for the human body and for his mood. Chronic lack of sleep clearly affects your appearance, in particular your face. The skin turns pale, blue circles and bags appear under the eyes, and the whites of the eyes turn red. Hair becomes dull, nails become brittle.

Popular negative consequences of lack of sleep also include:

• stress,
• irritability,
• slowness,
• weakened immunity,
• decreased creativity
• constant pain in the body,
• memory problems,
• headache,
• depression,
• persistent drowsiness,
• chills,
• high blood pressure,
• nausea,
• Digestive problems.

What problems arise with sleep deficiency?

First of all, performance suffers: headaches, impaired memory, attention, a person is no longer able to cope with the amount of work that he did before. The mood changes very dramatically. This is called the simple everyday word “depression,” but depression in the academic sense is understood as a violation of the production of all neurotransmitter systems. First of all, dopamine, and this hormone affects mood, strength, and endurance. Then - norepinephrine - and this is concentration, attention, these are the functions of finishing what you started. After – serotonin – this again affects mood, maintaining vascular tone and muscle tone.

In severe cases, sleep deficiency leads to serious psychosis, and insomnia is one of the severe syndromes. In age groups, there is a risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, sclerosis and other diseases. That is, in sleep, due to its lack, the cells of the nervous system do not recover.

Lack of sleep leads to a decline in immunity, the production of antibodies, memory, and attention are disrupted. Moreover, it increases the chances of a shortened life due to sudden disruptions in circadian rhythms. That is, those who have clear circadian rhythms live long. The key to health is the so-called Swiss regime - falling asleep and waking up at the same time every day.

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What are the 3 main tasks of sleep?

Sleep is one of the most important conditions for maintaining our health. Among all the functions that it is designed to perform, three main ones can be distinguished:

1. Ensuring healthy metabolic processes - the results of a huge number of medical studies have shown that sleeping less than six hours a day leads to the fact that the body begins to take energy not from fat, but from carbohydrates and protein. Thus, muscle mass decreases, and the amount of adipose tissue, on the contrary, increases. In addition, the insulin content in the blood increases, and this already increases the risk of diabetes, as well as the development of cardiovascular diseases.

2. Recovery - the brain is cleansed of toxins and metabolic waste that accumulate during the day. Too much of them increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease and other neurological diseases.

3. Strengthening long-term memory - if sleep is interrupted, this does not allow the ability to form emotional and physical memories to fully develop.

What are the main causes of insomnia?

Insomnia is a severe condition for the body. If a person has a toothache or pulpitis occurs, he must go to the dentist and treat the problem. This also applies to any other diseases. But in the case of insomnia, a person sometimes remains in such a serious condition for a long time, for years. The body, finding itself without help, loses its last resources. Although today treating insomnia is no more difficult than treating a tooth. The topic has been studied, there is such a somnology and specialists - somnologists who deal with this.

psychological reasons

:

• stress;
• anxiety states;
• neuroses.

Physiological

:

• hormonal imbalance;
• insufficient insulin production (for example, in diabetes mellitus);
• painful sensations.

External

:

• violation of the regime;
• excessive consumption of tonic drinks;
• overeating or starvation;
• unventilated room;
• abuse of gadgets.

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Rules for falling asleep easily

It happens that the body simply does not want to “switch off” when it is needed. There are several techniques to help him.

First, make sure that your body is as comfortable and light as possible. For this:

• Relax your body parts gradually, from top to bottom. Start with the muscles of the face and neck.
• If the jaw is clenched, it should be lowered.
• Take the load off your shoulders, lower them too.
• Look at each hand in turn and feel a wave of relaxation flow through them.
• Let the wave go further through the body, alternately relaxing the chest, stomach, hips, legs, reaching the fingertips.

When the body has reached maximum relaxation, proceed to visualization. To quickly fall asleep, mentally imagine different scenes with your eyes closed. Here are some options:

1. Start peering into the darkness, look at various patterns and shapes, the outlines of objects. Soon you will have an imaginary “cartoon”.
2. Imagine any ordinary object in monotonous motion. For example, a board on the water. Watch how she swings on the waves and stays in place.
3. Draw in your imagination, in as much detail as possible, a lake overgrown with water lilies. Imagine being in a boat in the middle of its waters. The boat rocks slowly as you lie on your back and look up at the blue sky.

It is worth considering that perfect sleep may not happen the first time. It's important to understand that this is normal. Any body needs time to readjust. Just keep trying and analyze your condition to understand what is best for you.

What to do about insomnia?

There are different types of insomnia. There are shifts in sleep phases or manifestations of a reaction to stress - then the duration of such a period is only 2-3 months. Afterwards, the person’s condition can return to normal, and sleep will be restored. But there are long-term, severe, so-called endogenous insomnia. The treatment of such diseases is carried out either by a psychiatrist or a somnologist.

When studying insomnia, polysomnography is performed. Diagnosis is also made by questioning and taking an anamnesis. In addition, there are other possible somatic causes. Problems with the liver and intestines are often detected. In this case, the body does not produce serotonin - its deficiency affects sleep disorders. If there is a problem of intolerance to various products, for example, lectins, gluten, they become toxic to the nervous system. In these cases, doctors carry out comprehensive diagnostics, complete treatment, and intensive general strengthening of the body. Xenon therapy, massages and relaxing procedures are also recommended for the treatment of insomnia.

Late bedtime and the extent of its harm to health

It is so inherent in nature that our body is accustomed to building a daily routine depending on the degree of illumination. If it has already become dark and you have not yet gone to bed, melatonin will not begin to be produced. As a result, problems may arise with the ability to maintain normal mood, as well as in the regulation of fat metabolism, sexual function, and suppression of tumors. It is generally accepted that melatonin production occurs from 10 pm to 5 am, so it is better to go to bed before midnight.

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In addition, going to bed late is especially harmful for working people, since they have to get up early. Thus, there is a high risk of developing chronic sleep deprivation.

TOP 6 most important conditions for a good night's rest

The use of methods on how to sleep 6 hours and get enough sleep is impossible without taking into account the basic rules of a full, comfortable night's rest. These include the natural requirements of a healthy lifestyle, which every person can follow if desired. If you listen to the tips described below, you can achieve easy, quick sleep and cure insomnia naturally.

Pleasant ritual for the night

This is the main condition for how to quickly fall asleep and get a good night's sleep. Daily repetition of pleasant actions that become a habit guarantees complete rest. Usually recommended:

• take a walk at night;
• listen to pleasant, relaxing music;
• get a massage or exercise for relaxation (yoga);
• take a bath with the pleasant aromas of lavender or essential oils of citrus, fir and other plants.

Features of nutrition and drink consumption

To get a good night's sleep, pay attention to these tips:

1. Do not eat food 4 hours before falling asleep. If the body is too hungry, you can eat fruit or drink broth, low-fat kefir, or eat light yogurt.
2. Drinking strong tea or coffee also occurs no later than 4 hours. For people suffering from high blood pressure, it is better to avoid these drinks after lunch.
3. Drinking energy drinks in the afternoon is not allowed - this interferes with falling asleep and getting a good night's sleep.

It is believed that drinking alcohol helps you fall asleep quickly, which is true, but only partly. Chronic consumption of strong drinks at night leads to sleep disorders.

Physical activity and walking

Sports activities are excluded no earlier than 3-4 hours before the expected night's rest. However, you can take a walk an hour before, and also do light relaxing exercises (for example, yoga). If you turn an evening walk into a daily habit, you will get better sleep.

Conditions in the bedroom

Even a healthy person will not be able to get enough sleep if the appropriate conditions are not created in the bedroom:

• dim, dim light or its complete absence;
• absence of extraneous noise and sharp, intrusive sounds;
• normal air temperature (no more than 20-22oC);
• pleasant, cozy design;
• optimal position of the bed (determined individually);
• lack of a large number of home appliances (computers, televisions, etc.).

Modern technical means provide great opportunities to skillfully relax the body and actually create an atmosphere of relaxation with your own hands in the bedroom.

For example, the use of white noise (sounds of the forest, rain and other natural sounds) muffles extraneous noises. Thick curtains or a blindfold protects against light from outside the window. And dim night lights create a cozy atmosphere in the room.

Optimal selection of bedding

Choose a pillow of sufficient softness/hardness, optimal size and materials. It is also difficult to fall asleep under a blanket that is too hot, on a mattress that is too soft, etc. It is important to take care of all accessories and guarantee yourself a comfortable stay. For example, if you can’t get enough sleep and regularly have a headache, a stiff neck, and tense muscles, the reason is obviously due to an unsuitable pillow (and possibly even a mattress).

Pros and cons of sleeping naked

Doctors and psychologists recommend sleeping without clothes, even without pajamas, because this has its advantages:

• body temperature drops faster, you can quickly fall asleep and get enough sleep;
• the level of the stress hormone cortisol decreases;
• thanks to the reduced temperature, metabolism accelerates and the body recovers faster;
• Psychologically, self-confidence increases.

There are no downsides as such - sleeping without clothes really helps you get a good night's sleep thanks to a comfortable rest.

These tips should be applied not only to those who want to get six hours of sleep, but to all people. Healthy sleep is the basis for normal performance, and chronic lack of sleep gradually undermines the body's strength. Therefore, saving on time for a night's rest is unacceptable.

The most important

To never experience sleep disorders, you need to lead a normal lifestyle. Before going to bed, do not be tempted by a cup of coffee or a glass of something stronger. Ventilate the bedroom properly and maintain a temperature of 18–20°C. It is beneficial to get adequate physical activity throughout the day. You can use various relaxation techniques.

Let all everyday difficulties remain in the outside world, and the horrors of news broadcasts can be seen the next morning, if you really want to. By the way, eating stewed vegetables calms and prepares the body for rest. In general, the main thing is to achieve a reduction in the level of anxiety, and proper rest is ensured.

How to leave everything and go to bed on time

Previously, I considered sleep a waste of time and slept little in order to get more done.
But gradually life began to deteriorate: I remembered poorly, felt unwell, lost concentration and spoiled relationships with people. After falling asleep while driving at a traffic light, I studied the topic of sleep and tried out practical tips. I spent a month recovering and found out the three main characteristics of sleep: quantity, quality and time of awakening. Every morning I planned to go to bed before 11 pm. But at one in the morning I found myself watching unimportant articles and videos. The next day everything was repeated. One day I got tired of it and figured out the problem. I’ve been going to bed before 11 for over a year now and I know what it takes.

Understand why you can’t go to bed on time

In the morning one person plans and promises for the evening, and in the evening another person executes it. The frontal lobes are responsible for prioritization, conscious choice, critical analysis and willpower. Over the course of a day, the frontal lobes exhaust their strength and a person becomes weak-willed and driven: he does not follow plans and priorities, and is distracted by stupid videos. This behavior is called reactive. Because of it, we go to bed late, don’t get enough sleep, the frontal lobes don’t rest, and the evening problem gets worse. This is a vicious circle:

Attempts to go to bed on time fail because we rely on conscious choice and willpower when they are absent or weak. The “Priority List” and “Evening Ritual” help a reactive person easily do what a proactive person plans to do in the morning.

Make a “Priority List”

Every evening at 7:30 p.m., the computer tells you that it’s time to review the “Priority List.” The list contains two types of tasks: “Wait until tomorrow” and “Complete before lights out.” After a minute of watching, I understand that it will wait until tomorrow and I call it a day. This is the first point of the “Evening Ritual”, which helps you go to bed on time and get your brain ready for sleep.

The “Priority List” helps our reactive person to slow down and not think about priorities, but simply check whether it is possible to postpone an angry response to someone’s wrong on the Internet. This relates more to mechanical actions than to intellectual ones and therefore the chances of making the right decision increase. The chances even increase that we will simply put things off. Previously, there was no such list and I simply received a message to reflect: “Is what I am doing now important?” But a tired brain sabotaged this message because it was too lazy to strain. To mechanically check the list, you don’t have to strain and your chances increase.

The “priority list” consists of two columns: “Wait until tomorrow” and “Complete before lights out.” You need to make a list in the morning. So that the list does not take up several notebooks, we write down in the columns not specific tasks, but their type:

Suitable Answer to colleagues. Reading social networks. Urgent help for family and friends.

Not suitable Reply to the director when the report arrives. Read the message on FB from Anya. Pull Sergei's car out of the snowdrift.

My list of priorities

How to work with the “Priority List”:

1. Postpone your current activity. This doesn't mean you won't come back to him. You just need to take a break and bring awareness into the evening.
2. Check “planned” with the “Wait until tomorrow” column. If a case falls into this column, it is easy to forget until tomorrow or forever.
3. Check the remaining tasks with the “Complete before lights out” column. There are some that do not fall into the first column. This does not mean that they fall into the second. Even the slightest doubt that the matter belongs to the “Done before lights out” column means there is no doubt that it does not belong to this column.
4. Quit things that are not included in the second column. Quit even in the middle. An unfinished comment, an unread article or an unwatched video has only one goal: to drag you back into the pool of meaningless and useless activities. The truly important will remain like this in the morning and will not go anywhere.

Perform the Evening Ritual

“Evening ritual” is a list of understandable tasks that we perform mechanically and automatically. The hardest thing is to put it aside and move on to the first point. Therefore, learn to start automatically: your smartphone beeps, put aside work, turn to the “List of Priorities”, then look at the next item in the “Evening Ritual”, complete it, and so on until the end of the list. The main thing is not to give in to thoughts: “Now I’ll finish reading the paragraph...”.

How to create an evening ritual:

1. List the actions you want to do before going to bed.
2. Place them in the correct order.
3. Next to each, write how many minutes the action takes.
4. Decide on the time you want to go to bed.
5. Subtract the number of minutes of the last action from the hang-up time and set the resulting time as the beginning of the last action. Then subtract the number of minutes of the penultimate action from the start time of the last action. And so on until the beginning of the list.

The “Evening Ritual” will help if the checklist items are simple. Don't put activities you're just studying on your checklist. The brain will sabotage excess stress and choose to spend time on social networks. And simple daily actions help the brain tune in to sleep and prepare the body.

Incorporate all actions into the ritual. Even the self-evident things: wash your face, wash your feet, brush your teeth.

My evening ritual in the Things app

Now you have your evening ritual and start time. Set a reminder in your smartphone and learn to put things off when prompted. Don't treat your list of priorities and your evening ritual as eternal and complete. Analyze, check, test, change. Choose what helps.