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An extra hour of sleep is good for the body
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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In the conditions of modern life, almost every person suffers from lack of sleep. The reasons are very different, but the most important is that sleep is imposed on a person as an unaffordable luxury, which can be easily denied to oneself. In extreme cases, there is strong coffee, which will drive away drowsiness and allow you to increase your performance. However, recently, cases of diabetes have become more frequent, and there are more and more people prone to obesity, perhaps this is provoked by inadequate sleep?
The following experiment was conducted at the sleep research center: volunteers who usually sleep from 6 to 9 hours a day were divided into two groups. In one group, the participants had to sleep six and a half hours, and in the other an hour more. A week later, all participants in the experiment gave a blood test and swapped with the participants in the opposite group, i.e. those who slept six and a half hours now had to sleep an hour more and vice versa, those who slept seven and a half hours reduced their rest by an hour. A week later, computer testing was conducted, which showed that the group that reduced their sleep time had a decrease in thinking, and the specialists also found interesting changes in the blood test of the participants. As it turned out, changes in sleep patterns affect about five hundred genes, some of which are activated, while others, on the contrary, are suppressed. As a result of the experiment, it turned out that if a person is deprived of just one hour of sleep, genes associated with inflammation, immunity, and stress response begin to activate. Genes associated with diabetes and cancer also increased their activity. In the group that slept an hour more, these genes, on the contrary, significantly decreased their activity. Therefore, scientists suggest that sleep deficiency may be one of the causes of diabetes.
As a result of research, it was found that an extra hour of sleep is extremely important for a person's health. Therefore, if possible, you need to add at least an hour of night rest.
Sleep is a natural physiological process during which the body rests, restores its defenses, and during sleep our brain actively processes and stores information. Therefore, lack of sleep leads to memory impairment. Moreover, information received during the day must be processed and stored by our brain within 24 hours, otherwise it is irretrievably lost. All this happens during deep sleep, and during periods of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the body tries to cope with strong experiences and emotions, so if you wake a person up during this period, he will have a feeling of anxiety. Therefore, a person who does not sleep enough is more susceptible to irritation, it is more difficult for him to solve problems that require mental activity, he feels a loss of strength. A good night's rest, according to experts, will help not only increase efficiency, but also increase the body's immune forces to protect against various diseases.
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