If You Do Not Get Enough Sleep, You Could Be Hurting Yourself

This week is Sleep Awareness Week.

Frederick, Md. (NS) – Not getting adequate sleep can hurt you in the long run.

For Sleep Awareness Week, Kristen Jacobs from MedExpress joined WFMD’s Four State Focus Show and said a constant lack of sleep can cause damage to the body and lead to conditions like heart disease.

While some people can improve their sleep by removing distractions before bed, she said others need to be treated for conditions like Sleep Apnea.

“Sleepiness is one of the symptoms, snoring loudly is one of the symptoms, or if your partner tells you they hear you stop breathing,” said Jacobs.

The National Sleep Foundation recommends everyone get at least seven hours of restful sleep per day.

To compensate, Jacobs said it is healthy to take naps.

“Sometimes you can limit your naps, you know, and see if you can wake up after about 30, 45 minutes and you can feel very well rested and you can set another alarm for an hour and see at 45 minutes do I feel rested? Do I need a little more time? Then I set that second alarm to let myself go a little longer,” she explained.

Jacobs said you can help yourself get to sleep quicker by limiting screen time right before bed.

The CDC says 1/3 of Americans don’t get enough sleep every day.