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Sufficient SleepWhat the researchers have found is that insufficient sleep increases the body's stress levels, which has an aging-accelerating effect. In studies, during sleep-deprivation, men's blood sugar levels take 40% longer to drop following a high-carbohydrate meal, compared with the sleep-recovery period. Furthermore, their ability to secrete and respond to the hormone insulin, which helps regulate blood sugar, dropped by 30%. In addition, the sleep-deprived had higher nighttime concentrations of cortisol hormone, which also helps regulate blood sugar, and lower levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone. These raised cortisol levels mimic levels that are often seen in older people, and may be involved in age-related insulin resistance and memory loss. In research, the subjects' blood sugar and hormone concentrations were restored after the sleep-recovery period. Even though human body has changed very little in terms of biology over the decades, earlier research has shown that in developed countries, the average night's sleep has dropped from 9 hours to 7.5 hours, in about 100 years. How much of sleep is enough for a person depends on each person individually, and is related to age, health, and so on. Some adhere to simple test of nothing more than assessing whether you feel refreshed when you get up and whether you can function normally and focus on the tasks at hand throughout the day. If you find that your are not able to concentrate or are falling asleep during the day then you're probably not getting enough sleep. Sufficient Sleep - StudiesSleep and aging. Miles LE, Dement WC. Sleep. 1980;3(2):1-220. [Effect of biological rhythm on sleep-wakefulness regulation]. Zulley J. Internist (Berl). 1996 May;37(5):463-9. The human circadian system in normal and disordered sleep. Richardson GS. J Clin Psychiatry. 2005;66 Suppl 9:3-9; quiz 42-3. Sleep after forty. Mendelson WB. Am Fam Physician. 1984 Jan;29(1):135-9. Sleep in normal and pathological aging. Blois R, Feinberg I, Gaillard JM, Kupfer DJ, Webb WB. Experientia. 1983 Jun 15;39(6):551-8. A critical review of sleep and its disorders from a developmental perspective. Kupfer DJ, Reynolds CF. Psychiatr Dev. 1983 Winter;1(4):367-86.
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