There is much evidence to support the truth that the amount of time you nap can be the most valuable predictor of how long you might live!
As a human being who has been deep into nutrition for a very long time, the above statement was pretty shocking to me. My own knowledge and sharing of nutrition do’s and don’ts with others has focused primarily on eating your fruits and veggies, taking some good nutritional supplements, getting right exercise, and not being exposed to too much stress. But the right amount of sleep as a predictor of longevity??? Well, here are few things I have learned, much of this acquired from a book, SUPER FOODS HEALTH STYLE, written by Steven G. Pratt, M.D., and Kathy Matthews.
A poll taken in the year 2000 by the National Sleep Foundation discovered that sleep debt is a problem for more than half of America’s workforce. Their information suggests that in the last century we’ve lowered the average amount of time we sleep by 20 percent.
Of course, I suppose that most of us recognize that if we don’t get adequate sleep for a night or two, we may not function as well the next day. If we work a job where accuracy is really important, or if we are driving a long way, we sure don’t desire to be sleepy. And we may even realize that adequate sleep affects our immune system. With a lack of sleep, we may be more likely to get sick. But tying the maximum amount of sleep into various health issues and even our longevity…well, maybe that’s another food for thought!
In reality, sleep deprivation is taking a serious toll on our overall health! Following are sleep deprivation effects.
• Overweight
• Coronary heart disease
• Hypertension
• Diabetes
• Immune function
• Cognitive performance
• Longevity
You do not need to lose large amounts of sleep before it takes a toll. One study found that sleeping less than 4 hours per night was associated with a 2.8 times higher rate of mortality for men and a 1.5 times higher rate for women. “The author of this study also found that length of sleep time was a better predictor of mortality than smoking, cardiac disease, or hypertension.”
Another study found that individuals who slept six hours or less a night had a 70 per cent higher mortality rate over a nine-year period than those who slept seven to eight hours a night!
How much sleep do we need?
• A six to twelve year old will need between 10 and a half and 11 and half hours of sleep a night.
• A teenager will require a little less sleep, probably around 9 or 10 hours a night.
• An adult should be getting 7 to 8 hours sleep each night.
In addition, it is advisable for you to sleep at night than during the daytime. In fact, sleeping between the hours of 10 P.M. and 6 A.M. is considered to be the best. This allows for your body to restore its needed melatonin levels in a natural way.
Melatonin is a natural hormone produced by your body’s pineal gland. During the day the pineal is inactive, but when darkness comes, the pineal is “turned on” and starts to actively produce melatonin. This author believes that allowing your body to produce melatonin in a natural way, by sleeping at night, is much smarter for most people, than purchasing melatonin as a supplement.
So, close your eyes at night to avoid diabetes, to lose weight, to improve your immune system, to feel better, and to live longer!