They say when a student goes off to college especially those students who tend to dorm, their best friend becomes the all-time favorite known as “Ramon Noodles!” Why? Because it is inexpensive, time efficient as well as fulfilling. But no matter where you are off to for college, all year ‘round (and especially during finals) our best friend tends to be the good ol’ caffeine. Whether its coffee or (drum roll please) red bull. We’ve all been there where we tried to do whatever we could in order to stay awake for papers, projects or studying for exams. But did you know that staying awake and depriving yourself sleep for just a minimum of a week can cause your genes to shut down? According to Doctor Timothy Morgantahler, “the amount of sleep you need depends on various factors — especially your age.” The basic guidelines are, if you’re an infant you need approximately 14-15 hours’ worth of sleep. A toddler requires roughly about 12-14 hours, school- age children about 10-11 hours and last but not least adults generally need about 7-9 hours of sleep.

So I’m assuming, everyone who is reading this article falls under the adult category which means we need approximately 7-9 hours of sleep on a daily basis. Did anyone ever realize how refreshed they feel the day they do tend to get that full cycle of sleep? Me personally when I do get 7-9 hours I feel refreshed and energized. Do you know why that is? That’s because our genes tend to produce a supply of protein so having that supply of protein affects our mood and the way we feel. What these genes feed off of is a good night sleep. Being deprived of sleep causes our genes to shut down which evidentially interferes with our metabolism, immune system, as well as stress levels.

Getting the proper amount of sleep helps restore our bodies from the obstacles we let it face on a daily basis. For example neglecting our body of its’ required nutrients, eating unhealthy, and not keeping ourselves hydrated enough. All these things are things we tend to do every single day on repeat, but it’s during our sleeping cycle where our genes restore itself by repairing or replacing any damaged tissue we may have caused. A study had been done on 26 women who were divided into two groups. One group of women were those who slept for 6 hours and less and the other group of women were women who had slept for 10 hours. Studies had shown that the women who were sleep deprived had genes that stopped working. Professor Colin Smith also added:

This is only a week of sleep restriction and it is only five and a half or six hours a night. Many people have that amount of sleep for weeks, months and maybe even years so we have no idea how much worse it might be.

Your genes get a beating every week you deprive yourself of sleep, so as Professor Colin Smith was saying, to those who experience less than 6 hours of sleep every single day for a longer period of time that can lead to a weaker immune system since your genes aren’t producing any protein and damaged tissues aren’t being replaced. It can also lead to obesity since it affects your metabolism as well as raise stress levels tremendously

So guys don’t deprive yourself of sleep. The next time your mom or whomever yells at you to get out of bed, just tell show them this article, then hop right back into bed and, get all cozy and hug yourself to sleep… because you know that’s not awkward at all… Remember a rested you means a happier you.

Source:
Telegraph
Mayo Clinic
Sleep Foundation

Image:
Bubblews