Getting more sleep is always good for our health. Whether it prevents heart disease and obesity or all the other conditions that develops as a consequence of a weakened immune system, getting an extra hour of sleep or even more has been always thought beneficial to us.

 

In the most recent study on sleep and its benefits on our health, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania noted that people who get less than seven hours of sleep at night have a three times higher risk of catching a cold compared with people who sleep eight hours or more.

 

According to the National Sleep Foundation, a Washington-based organization that studies sleep deprivation disorders, adults should get at least seven hours a night, children ages 5 to 12 should get nine to eleven hours, while adolescents need 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 hours. But how many of us do really respect their sleep? With so many video games, movies and computers around us it is rather difficult to find time for sleep. Also, many people would rather sacrifice an hour or two hours of sleep to catch up on unsolved things, either for work or their home. Of course, the consequences won’t appear right away. Therefore, many people will say that such studies highlighting the benefits of a good night’s sleep are just pure literature, when in fact they could learn something from them.

 

The study we are referring at involved 153 people who had their sleep habits analyzed for a period of two weeks. Then, they were asked if they felt rested or not. Also they were given nasal drops that contain the rhinovirus, the most common virus that causes colds, before being monitored for symptoms and then tested for actual infection.

 

The researchers found that the participants who slept less than seven hours a night were 2.94 times more likely to develop a cold. Moreover, “those who lose more than 8 percent of sleep on an average night because they have trouble getting to sleep or wake up in the middle of the night are more than five times more likely to get a cold when exposed to a virus,” said study lead author Sheldon Cohen, a psychology professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

 

One possible explanation for this finding may be related to the importance of sleep for our immune system. It appears that the more sleep we get, the better our immune system responds to infections. Therefore, it is crucial to get enough sleep if we want to keep ourselves healthy and happy.

 

On contrary, a survey by the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, released in May last year, found that an estimated 50 to 70 million people suffer from constant sleep loss or sleep disorders. The survey also found that 33 percent of those who slept less than six hours were obese, as were 26 percent of those who got nine hours or more. Only 22 percent of those sleeping the recommended amount of time were obese. Speaking of smoking and sleep deprivation, the survey found that among adults 18 and older who slept 7 to 8 hours a night, only 18 percent were current cigarette smokers, compared to over 30 percent of adults who slept less than six hours a night.

 

Keeping in mind all the evidence above, how many hours did you sleep last night?