The Medicine Called Sleep

Deep, adequate sleep is like a healing medicine to the body. But the opposite is true, too. In fact, consistently poor or insufficient sleep can contribute to diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems and weight gain, according to experts at the Cleveland Clinic. Blood pressure, for example, rises and falls during sleep. But when sleep is interrupted, there can be an unhealthy impact on the blood pressure's normal variability, causing it to rise and setting off problems with the heart and arteries.

More and more scientific studies show that not enough sleep disrupts the body's ability to use insulin, which can bring on diabetes. In addition, poor sleep decreases metabolism and increases the bodily concentration of the stress hormone cortisol. Too much cortisol delivers a one-two punch, causing appetite to increase and the ability to burn calories to diminish. This leads to weight gain.

The need for sleep, however, doesn't decline as you get older. Adults, regardless of age, generally require seven to nine hours a night. Older people might get fewer hours of sleep at night, but that's only because they wake more frequently. They usually make up for what they don't get at night by daytime sleep. But sleepers, younger or older, should beware of snoring, which can often signal sleep apnea. This is a sleep disorder that's often connected with serious medical problems.

In sleep apnea, a person often stops breathing or breathes only minimally throughout the night. The resulting oxygen deprivation can strain the heart and arteries, and lead to serious cardiovascular disease if left untreated. Frequent and regular snoring is connected with high blood pressure. And not enough sleep plays havoc with growth hormone secretion, which in turn is associated with obesity. As the secretion of growth hormone tails off, the body tends to gain weight.