July 14, 2008

4 Surprising Reasons To Get More Sleeps

I was wondering how many hours of sleep you get (on an average) each night. I sleep about 6 hours each night. It is said that sleep could have more effect on your health than you think . Here is the article I quoted from Reader's Digest, November 2007 issue :

It could make you thinner.
The less sleep you get, the higher your body mass index tends to be. Research showed that people who sleep five hours a night were found to have 15 per cent more ghrelin (a hormone that boosts hunger) in their bodies and 15 per cent less leptin (which suppresses it) than those sleeping eight hours.

It could boost your memory.
Sleep plays a key role in making new memories stick in the brain. A Harvard experiment showed that subjects taught complex finger movements such as a piano scale recalled them better after 12 hours’ sleep than 12 hours’ wakefulness.

It can fight colds, ulcers and even cancer.
Good sleep boosts the immune system. Melatonin, produced when you sleep, is a cancer-fighting antioxidant. Night-shift workers may have up to 70 times greatest risk of breast cancer. Also, the chemical to repair damage to the stomach lining is secreted during sleep, so staying up all night regularly could raise your risk of ulcer.

It can slow down ageing.
Persistent sleep debt affects carbohydrate metabolism and hormone function in a way that may increase the severity of age-related chronic disorders. A large-scale study concluded that people who sleep six to seven hours a night live longer than those sleeping less than 4-5 hours.

So how many hours do you sleep?

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I sleep a lot, but I don't get thinner, on the contrary :(

akokow said...

It depends on

- movies i want to watch
- books i want to read
- computer game i want to complete
- workload waiting for me in the morning
- soccer match

Mostly, i sleep around 6 hours..

Anonymous said...

I only sleep 2-3 hours a day... but I get thinner, still young and has no problem with blood pressure, ulcer, or even flight cough...

And My brain??... No doubt... I even forget who am I now, Semacam amnesia mendadak gitu dech, hahahhaha.. :)

Elyani said...

@the writer: Did you eat too close to your bedtime? If you eat at 7pm and go to sleep at 12pm, that is OK. But if you eat at 7pm and go to bed at 8 or 9pm, it is likely you will gain weight. An old friend who suffered a high blood pressure problem once told me not to eat after 6pm if you want to maintain your weight. The problem with me if I eat too early, then I end up eating so much more after that, LOL!

@akoko: what if the soccer match starts at the wee hours? given the time difference of the continent. But it is irrelevant if you talk about Liga Djarum Super :)

@Silly : good for you, gal! amnesia pas bayar belanja`an sih gak apa2 Sil, paling kena jitak sama yg dagang..hehehe!

@Sandy: thank you for your interest in my blog, but I do not write for commercial purpose :)

Anonymous said...

I can sleep up to 18 hrs. That's my problem really - I sleep too much.

I'm such a dog. LOL

rimafauzi said...

I sleep like 6-7 hours a day. i have been so tired lately but i know it's not because of lack of sleep, it's because i dont move much. damn computer! lol

Anonymous said...

wow thanks for your quote. i don't really agree with this cause as a programmer somtimes you have to work ona really long hour. And event after all job are clear, we're not do what my indonesian said as "balas dendam". we still sleep for six hours just like anther day

Anonymous said...

maybe that's why. I tend to eat pretty close to my sleeping time, I would sure change that habit now. I sleep around 6-7 hours and can be up to 10 hours in the weekend. Simply said, I love to sleep! :D

Judith said...

Wah El, barusan aku terjemahkan sehalaman blogmu ke bahasa German (lewat mbah gugel..). Oh ternyata ada manfaatnya juga ya kalo cukup tidur. Lha aku takut endut kalo kebanyakan bobok, hiks ... kadang aku bobok cuma 5-6 jam tiap malem. Aku nggak bisa tidur lebih awal dan nggak bisa bangun terlambat, sakit kepala. Bahkan aku pernah mengidap sakit insomia ...

Danke Elyani, mudah2an aku bisa ikuti tip tidur yang sehat gini ...

Anonymous said...

that is my biggest problem- sleeping late everyday. and so I usually get about 5 to 6 hours of sleep on the average. not much, i know. but, i am now used to it and if i sleep earlier, it takes a while for me to fall asleep.

Elyani said...

@Therry & the writer: I cannot sleep more than 6 hours because my cat will wake me up. If I pretend to be sleeping he will bite my ankle!...grrrrrr! That's the problem when you share a bed with your four legged baby, LOL!

@Rima : 6-7 hours is more than enough to keep you stay youthful :)

@uwiuw: I think it has something to do with your body clock.

@Judith : makanya bayi mukanya imut2 terus karena tidur melulu kali ya, Dith?

@Belle: ditto, I am a door mouse at night but an early bird in the morning.

Anonymous said...

Sama, Vic dan Fluffy juga teriak-teriak kalo pagi, minta dikeluarin dari kandang :) Itung2 alarm natural :P tapi kalo wiken sedia kain hitam buat nutupin kandang.

Kalo mereka pas diluar juga suka nemplok2 di kepala dan matok2in pipi minta kita bangun :D