Your Sleep Habits Are Affecting Your Aging Process
Posted: March 30, 2015
Hopefully none of you has experienced this first-hand, but sleep deprivation can be used as a form of torture. Reduced sleep has been proven to negatively affect cognitive ability, physical performance, and willpower. Torture or not, no one likes the sluggish feeling associated with a lack of sleep.
An estimated 70 million Americans are sleep deprived, contributing to a host of side effects and conditions that burden our healthcare system and economy.
Jane Ferrie, a senior research fellow at the University College London Medical School in Great Britain, has conducted several short- and long-term studies on the effects that sleep has on performance and happiness. “We know that inadequate sleep is associated with poor performance and concentration; that there’s a relationship between sleep and many health issues; and that a negative change in sleep duration over a five-year period is associated with an increase in premature death,” Ferrie says.
Her most recent five-year study concluded that those who had sleep reduced by an hour per night over that time frame showed declines in mental and cognitive tests the equivalent of aging four to seven years. In essence, poor sleep patterns can make your mind and body age at twice the rate that it should.
For men over age 30, one potential contributor to poor sleep patterns is a reduced level of testosterone. After hitting 30, the body will naturally lower its production of testosterone at the rate of about 1 percent per year. As these deficits add up, many side effects can occur, including the onset of irregular sleep patterns. Men awake each morning not fully refreshed, which affects their stress levels, motivation, and physical performance.
If you have concerns about your sleep patterns, and you think low testosterone may be a contributing factor, Low T Center can help. With a simple blood test on your first visit, we can determine if you are a candidate for testosterone replacement therapy.
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Disclaimer: This article is made available for general, entertainment and educational purposes only. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Low T Center. You should always seek the advice of a licensed healthcare professional.