Sleep is not optional

'Sleep is not optional - it is absolutely critical to people's health,' said Dr David White, the chief medical officer at Philips Home Healthcare Solutions. The consequences of not sleeping enough are well documented.
He does not mince his words when he says that people simply need to take sleep much more seriously.
'People lose sleep either because they cannot sleep (insomnia) or because they are not setting aside enough time for sleep - both of which can happen because of work-related stress in the current economic environment."
People who do not get enough sleep can gain weight, are prone to diabetes, high blood pressure and even heart attacks. We are facing a serious healthcare problem if we do not take sleep more seriously."

Dr Milton Lum, a member of the board of Medical Defence Malaysia' recorded that studies of individuals deprived of sleep for more than 24 hours have shown that there is a decrease in the brain's metabolic activity by up to 6% for the whole brain and 11% for specific areas in the brain.
Short term sleep deprivation has been reported to contribute to obesity and poor control of type II diabetes. Long term sleep deprivation decreases the quality of life and leads to increased morbidity and mortality.

When we talk about healthy sleep, it means getting an adequate amount of quality sleep. This means going through a complete process of sleep cycles throughout the night.

Rest is to prepare our body for the day ahead. If you think that way, you will be less stressed out

The Philips study, however, is focused on the workplace. Conducted in five countries around the globe, it showed that 40% of those questioned blamed the state of the world economy as the major reason for their lack of sleep. The survey was undertaken in March and covered 2,500 managers - equally split across Britian, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and the United States - using an online poll. The Americans worry the most and the Dutch the least.

Matthews 6 : 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ?

So.. "Do you rest for the day's work or do you rest after a hard day's work ?

Psalm 4 : 8 I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Extracted from Monday Starters dated 25May2009 - Star Biz.