There is much evidence to support the fact that the amount of time you sleep could be the most
important predictor of how long you will live!
As a person who has been deep into nutrition for many years, the above statement was pretty
shocking to me. My own knowledge and sharing of nutrition do’s and don’t’s with others has
focused primarily on eating your fruits and veggies, taking some good nutritional supplements,
getting adequate exercise, and not being subjected to too much stress. But the right amount of
sleep as a predictor of longevity??? Well, here’s some things I have learned, much of this
acquired from a book, SUPER FOODS HEALTHSTYLE, written by Steven G. Pratt, M.D., and
Kathy Matthews.
A poll taken in the year 2000 by the National Sleep Foundation found that sleep debt is a
problem for more than half of America’s workforce. Their data suggests that in the last century
we’ve reduced the average amount of time we sleep by 20 percent.
Of course, I suppose that most of us recognize that if we don’t get adequate sleep for a night or
two, we may not function as well the next day. If we work a job where accuracy is super
important, or if we are driving a long distance, we sure don’t want to be sleepy. And we may
even realize that adequate sleep affects our immune system. With a lack of sleep, we may be
more likely to get sick. But tying the optimum amount of sleep into various diseases and even
our longevity…well, maybe that’s another food for thought!
In reality, sleep deprivation is taking a serious toll on our overall health! A sleep debt of merely
3 or 4 hours in a week may have a direct bearing on the following: