“There is a time for many words, and there is also a time for sleep.” Homer, Greek poet

Have you ever missed a couple hours of sleep? Finals, early travel, travel to another time zone, late conversations with long time friends visiting for the first time in years, anticipation of something nice or dreadful and many other reasons might interfere with our sleep. If you do not get enough sleep once in a while, you probably will not even notice the difference. If you chronically do not sleep enough, that is a different matter all together. Sleep is very important for our health. It affects our immune system, emotional state and even weight.

A study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that sleep deprivation lowers insulin sensitivity especially, in fat cells. (3) If insulin resistance becomes persistent, sugar metabolism will be affected increasing the risk of diabetes. Several studies (1,2) found that people who get too little sleep tend to weight more than people who get enough sleep. People who get enough sleep are sick less, are in a better mood and drive safer. Studies have shown that driving while being very tired (drowsy driving) is as dangerous as driving drunk. “Sleepiness carried almost as much risk as alcohol ingestion. “, one such study concluded. (4) Continue reading Sleep more, weigh less →