Not sleeping is the new smoking

Besides Sporty Spice, fitgirl and diesel, I also have the stamp grandma. Sounds a bit contradictory and I didn't get that name because I'm starting to go gray, walk crooked, or because the first varicose veins have been spotted on my legs, no, it's because I crawl under the covers around half past nine in the evening. The alarm goes off at six and I like to get in eight to nine hours of sleep. Not because I get grumpy otherwise, but because sleeping is just my hobby. But that's not all: a lack of sleep is much unhealthier than we think. Sleep coach Els van der Helm even calls sleep deprivation the new smoking. Just like healthy food and the necessary hours in the gym, sufficient sleep is very important to stay healthy. Haven't I convinced you enough yet? Here are the reasons why you shouldn't miss those precious hours in dreamland .

1. Sleep is essential for the proper functioning of your body and mind. It ensures a stable body temperature and that your nervous system works well.
2. Too little sleep makes you irritable and grumpy.
3. Sleeping makes you smart. According to a study from the Centre for Sleep Research at Loughborough University, every lost hour of sleep from the eight needed hours results in the loss of about one IQ point.
4. With too little sleep, your body has difficulty processing the food you consume. In the long term, this can even lead to extra pounds.
5. A lack of sleep hours can weaken your immune system. Those hours under the covers therefore contribute to a better immune system.
6. Research shows that if you have sleep deprivation, you have a greater appetite during the day, causing you to eat more and thus consume more calories. So you literally sleep yourself slim.
7. Research shows that sleep has an effect on our ability to make social contacts. People who get little sleep are less able to recognize the difference between happy and angry faces, which leads to miscommunication.

Now the big question remains how much sleep is enough for you. For no less than 65% of adults, seven to eight hours of sleep per night is the ideal amount. Research shows that for most people, seven hours is even better than eight. Only two percent of adults really need ten hours of sleep to feel rested. Grandma happily belongs to that small two percent.