Clinical research has found that healthy men deprived of even a single night’s sleep have a 30 percent drop in the activity of their immune system’s tumor-fighting cells the next day. The electrical activity in the brain during dream sleep dramatically slows down muscle activity, which allows the body to reconstruct damaged muscle tissue. Lack of sleep deprives the body of the time it needs to repair worn-out tissue. Additional research has also found that people who only get four and a half hours of sleep in a night experience a surge in blood pressure when they awaken the next morning. In some cases, that surge can lead to stroke or other cardiovascular problems. Sleep deprivation costs the US $411 billion annually.
The following are interesting statistics:
• 35% of Americans don’t get the recommended seven hours of sleep each night
• Americans currently get an average of 6.8 hours of sleep each night
• In 1910 the average person slept 9 hours a night
• Roughly 20% of Americans have a sleep disorder
• Since 1985 the percentage of adults getting less than six hours of sleep each
night has increased by 31%
• 97% of teenagers get less than the recommended amount of sleep
• 7 out of 10 college students don’t get adequate sleep
Renzo J. Bustamante-Wendorff, B.S., M.S.
Research & Development
References: Boost Your Serotonin Levels: 5-HTP, Murray, Michael, N.D.
Statistics: thegoodbody.com
