What Happens When You Don’t Get Enough Sleep
Scientists peer inside the sleep-deprived mind and body
A lack of sleep is linked to an incredibly wide range of ailments, from heart disease and Type 2 diabetes to obesity, depression, poor cognitive function, and even Alzheimer’s disease.
Less is known about why exactly poor sleep is so detrimental to physical and mental health. But researchers are zeroing in on the reasons and mechanisms, ranging from blood vessels littered with fatty deposits to a buildup of cellular garbage in the brain.
People who sleep less than seven hours a night have 40 to 60% lower levels of three molecules that are thought to play a key role in blood vessel health, according to a new study published in the journal Experimental Physiology. The molecules, called microRNAs, suppress gene expression of proteins in cells and have previously been linked to inflammation and poor blood vessel health.
“They are like cellular brakes, so if beneficial microRNAs are lacking, that can have a big impact on the health of the cell,” says Christopher DeSouza, a professor of integrative physiology at the University of Colorado Boulder.
DeSouza’s study was small — just 24 men and women ages 44 to 62. And it relied on self-reporting, with the people in the study filling…
