Yes, sleeping less than 6 hours a night is dangerous to your health and here’s why

Sleep is essential and contributes to the proper functioning of the human body. But with work worries, children or other factors that can affect our sleepiness, it happens that the nights are getting shorter and shorter. And while little sleep is fine for some people, lack of rest can have health consequences. But what exactly are we exposed to?

Increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease

According to Chelsie Rohrscheib, a neuroscientist interviewed by the magazine Slate :

“Sleep is absolutely essential and a prolonged lack of it has many negative effects on health and lifespan. This is because sleep provides many essential functions for maintaining the brain and body that cannot be performed while we are awake. »

Obviously, sleep varies from person to person. Some need a lot of rest while others just need some time to doze off. And while spending about 7 hours in bed is a good pace to regenerate cells and allow the body to get the rest time it needs, getting less than 6 hours of sleep isn’t ideal. What exactly are we risking in this case?

According to a study, published in the Journal Of The American College Of Cardiology, people who have this habit can run more likely than others to develop cardiovascular disease. In fact, having “poor quality” sleep would help atherosclerosis. This disease is characterized by the deposition of atheroma plaque (composed of circulating fat in the blood) on the walls of the arteries.

You risk developing a chronic disease

“The serious physical and psychological consequences of lack of sleep have now been demonstrated over the past fifteen years. The problem is that this message has not reached the general public. People don’t make sleep a priority when it should be an incompressible part of everyday life.deplores Dr. Sylvie Royant-Parola, president of the Morpheus Network, psychiatrist and sleep specialist interviewed by the media Why doctor.

According to a study, researchers from INSERM and Paris Cité University, in collaboration with University College London, sleep less than 6 hours it would even increase by 20% the risk of onset of a first chronic disease in the over-fifties. A discovery made by analyzing the sleep of 7,000 Britons, for 35 years.

But then, what is the ideal sleep pattern?

A study published in the Sleep Health Journal is very clear on the subject. The sleep pattern necessary for the body to function properly varies from person to person. But most adults, ages 18-64, still need 7-9 hours of sleep a night be in good health. We have been warned.