Sleep Deprivation is Toxic

In “Here’s Why Sleep Deprivation Is Toxic and Will Eventually Kill You” (USA Today, 12- 22-2017), Jeff Stibel writes: 

Doctors are in agreement on the precise level of sleep needed — at least seven hours is necessary per night. Not five or six hours because you think you can handle it. That may be OK in the short term, but shortsighted thinking will kill you eventually. Sleep deprivation compounds, so every night counts. None of us are immune, no matter how busy or important you are. So the next time you start thinking about how to better yourself, improve productivity or stay ahead of the herd, lose the bravado and just go to bed.

Note to those who need it: “at least seven” means seven or more. Like 8 or 9 or 12. it does not mean “seven, only seven, no more than seven, and no less than seven.” It means more than seven.

Other excerpts:

“Sleep is one of the most important things we overlook, because most of us don’t consider it vital.”

“Falling unconscious is the last thing a sapient Homo sapien would do to survive, unless sleep is really, really important.”

“Without any sleep, toxins build up and kill us after about 200 hours. In the case of limited sleep, these toxins kill us over time.”

Remember, a key message is, as Jeff Stibel writes, “so the next time you start thinking about how to better yourself, improve productivity or stay ahead of the herd, lose the bravado and just go to bed.”