Too Little Sleep Destroys DNA?

I talk to my patients about the danger of not sleeping all the time. Unfortunately, it’s a common problem that affects 75 million Americans. People who don’t sleep, or sleep poorly, have up to 400% more accidents that those who get a good night’s rest. Not getting enough sleep also increases your risk of developing chronic diseases. Studies, including a large meta-analysis of 470,000 adults, found that those who slept less than six hours developed a:1,2,3,4,5 48% increase in the incidence of coronary heart disease 30% increased risk of dementia 15% increase in the incidence of stroke 50% cancer risk 17% higher risk of diabetes 95% increase in depression 750% higher risk of obesity The reason for such a dramatic increase in the risk of so developing diseases is that too little sleep is linked to increased cellular aging at the DNA level – including injury and dysfunction to cells, including heightened cell death, increased cell proliferation, and increased risk for cell replication errors.6 In fact, an important study from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine found that just one night of bad sleep is enough to make older adults age faster. Researchers studied 29 adults aged 61 to 86 for a four-night period. Not only did they analyze their sleep patterns, they took a blood sample every morning to determine what changes occurred on a cellular level. The results showed that even one night of poor sleep caused DNA damage consistent with faster biological aging.7 For a ...
Source: Al Sears, MD Natural Remedies - Category: Complementary Medicine Authors: Tags: Anti-Aging Health Source Type: news