Chronic Sleep Loss, Problematic for Women

Life has a way of moving faster than we'd like it to and I am no exception to the rule. Always rushed and despite what I do I can't seem to fit everything I need and want within a 24-hour schedule. With lots to do and seemingly little time to do it all I skimped out on my Zzz's to get things done.

But, getting colds more often, putting on a few more pounds and getting cranky made me slow down and reevaluate my priorities. After all there's so much caffeine you can take to offset a lack of sleep. Using my health as the focal point, I did some serious housekeeping in my life and interestingly enough my schedule works better. I think being realistic about not having to do it all, saying no and delegating tasks to others made a huge difference in my schedule. So, now I sleep better than I used to.

Many people may relate to my story because sleep deprivation is a problem we all face from time-to-time. Just watch the commercials and you'll see advertisements for Lunesta and Ambien-CR, especially at night when you should be sleeping. While you're up watching TV, do you ever wonder what the long-term effects of sleep deprivation might be. I have and here's what I found.

Surveys conducted by Harvard Women's Health Watch demonstrated that 75% of people experience difficulties sleeping and get less than six hours a night. It is commonly recommended that adults get eight hours of sleep a night.

Duke University's psychiatric and behavioral sciences associate professor, Edward Suarez, Ph. D studied 210 men and women without a history of sleep disorders. He studied their blood samples and sleep surveys. The findings indicated that poor sleep among women had greater health concerns than it did for men.

Well, this gender-specific finding definitely caught my attention. Interestingly enough, Dr. Suarez suggested that men may not be affected by these health problems due to some protective hormonal effect of testosterone.

In the study poor sleep was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The index took into consideration the time for study participants to sleep, the frequency of getting up in the middle of the night and total amount of sleep.

In women, poor sleep was associated with high blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, weight gain and a decline in immune response. For those with more chronic sleep issues, they also experienced more inflammation, depression, hostility and anger.

The findings are relatively new. However, the health issues affecting women who are sleep deprived are enough to make you think twice about getting help if you're always tossing and turning in your bed at night. If you're not sleeping well it's time to change what your doing for your health. We've seen the cons for women with poor sleeping habits. And the pros are more than just about getting your beauty sleep. It's true that your skin benefits from a good night's rest because cells rejuvenate best overnight to repair damage. But, there is more to gain from sleeping better than what's just on the surface. A press release from Harvard Women's Health Watch offers reasons why sleeping well really is skin deep.

1. Getting sleep after a task is learned will help you commit it to memory.
2. Sleep well and your body will thank you. Continuous sleep deprivation will lead to weight gain because our hormones are altered which change our appetite and the way carbohydrates are processed in the body.
3. Finding that you're irritable lately - check out your sleeping pattern because too little sleep may leave you impatient, moody and depressed.
4. Sound asleep? If you are, the good news is you can fight cancer and boost your immune system.
5. More chronic sleeping disorders lead to hypertension, increased levels of cortisol due to stress and arrhythmias.
6. Protect yourself and others. If you're not sleeping well at night your body will take it when it can get it and sometimes that's during the daytime. This can lead to driving accidents, medical errors and other safety issues.

The benefits of sleeping well are clear. Although more research is required to assess the effects of chronic sleep deprivation and health we know there is too much to risk by shaving off a few hours of snooze time, especially in woman.

Sources:http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/importance_of_sleep_and_health.htm, http://women.webmd.com/news/20080311/poor-sleep-harsher-on-women