Sleep plays an integral part in maintaining health and wellness; however, getting less than adequate rest may speed up cellular aging faster.
Researchers hold that aging biology can be reversed through lifestyle interventions like caloric restriction, the fasting mimicking diet, exercise, and restful sleep.
1. Decreased immunity
Sleep deprivation can weaken your immune system and leave you more susceptible to illness, while insufficient rest also decreases your body’s ability to fight off inflammation which is linked with chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes. According to one recent study in Journal of Experimental Medicine, extended periods of insomnia could even alter DNA structures over time.
Immunity is an intricate network that covers our entire bodies and protects us against illness. Immunity involves two main forms of protection, both natural and acquired. Innate immunity relies on your body’s natural defenses against bacteria and viruses while adaptive immunity builds over time through exposure to different pathogens. Sleep is an integral component of both innate and adaptive immunity. Researchers have revealed that insufficient rest may contribute to various health conditions, including cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression and more42. It’s thought that long-term sleep restriction destabilises immune function causing unresolved inflammation responses within its system42.
Scientists do not yet fully understand why those who sleep poorly exhibit such an immune shift; however, it has been linked with obesity and chronic inflammation43. They know this triggers an immune response.
Scientists conducted an experiment to measure the effect of sleep on immunity by monitoring 14 healthy lean adults for six weeks while they slept an average of eight hours a night and then reduced it to five. After six more weeks, blood was drawn and immune cells analyzed; results indicated that decreased sleep caused monocytes (a type of white blood cell) to look similar to obese monocytes, leading to increased inflammation and an increase risk for chronic disease.
2. Decreased cognitive function
As we age, our sleep needs change; as we become less active we require deeper levels of rest to fall and remain asleep, leading to reduced quality of restorative restorative sleep and increasing risk for diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Poor quality rest may also have other serious ramifications for health such as an increased chance of diabetes or cardiovascular disease.
Cognitive function, including your ability to process information quickly and regulate emotion and attention, can be greatly impaired by lack of sleep. This is especially true for the prefrontal cortex which oversees executive functions like reasoning and decision-making.
Studies have revealed the correlation between short sleep duration and various common diseases associated with aging such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease and multiple sclerosis, and short sleep duration. This evidence led to the establishment of geroscience as a field of research; which examines lifestyle interventions which alter biological aging processes and promote healthspan.
3. Decreased metabolism
Studies show that insufficient sleep can lower metabolism and cause weight gain, with studies showing even one week of insufficient rest altering metabolism and endocrine systems, leading to increased ghrelin levels and decreased leptin production resulting in obesity and weight gain. Although these changes might be reversed through catch-up rest, understanding the connection between sleep and body weight is crucial so you can develop healthy sleeping habits to achieve normal weight without health consequences associated with excess body weight – further research needs to be conducted into its full effects! This relationship between sleep and body weight has only recently been discovered so further investigation needs to take place on its full effects on overall wellbeing.
5. Decreased energy levels
Lack of sleep can reduce energy levels significantly, making it hard to rise up and tackle each day. Lethargy or apathy may develop, prompting people to put off activities which would provide natural energy boosts such as exercising.
Increase your energy by eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains. Also try getting more exercise to release hormones which increase energy.
As part of your lifestyle changes, try sleeping at the same time each night and taking measures to relax before going to bed, such as taking a hot bath or practicing meditation. Also remember to avoid caffeine, alcohol, smoking and staying hydrated by drinking plenty of water throughout the day – but remember to consult your physician first before making significant lifestyle adjustments! Introducing these changes may prove challenging at first; always seek professional advice prior to making changes that may impact on your sleep quality or habits significantly.
