‘Catastrophic’ lack of sleep in modern society is killing us, warns leading sleep scientist

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/sleep-deprivation-epidemic-health-effects-tired-heart-disease-stroke-dementia-cancer-a7964156.html

‘I take my sleep incredibly seriously because I have seen the evidence,’ says Professor Matthew Walker

Ian Johnston
Sept. 24, 2017

A “catastrophic sleep-loss epidemic” is causing a host of potentially fatal diseases, a leading expert has said.

In an interview with the Guardian, Professor Matthew Walker, director of the Centre for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley, said that sleep deprivation affected “every aspect of our biology” and was widespread in modern society.

And yet the problem was not being taken seriously by politicians and employers, with a desire to get a decent night’s sleep often stigmatised as a sign of laziness, he said.

Electric lights, television and computer screens, longer commutes, the blurring of the line between work and personal time, and a host of other aspects of modern life have contributed to sleep deprivation, which is defined as less than seven hours a night.

But this has been linked to cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, obesity and poor mental health among other health problems. In short, a lack of sleep is killing us.

Professor Walker, who is originally from Liverpool, said: “No aspect of our biology is left unscathed by sleep deprivation.

“It sinks down into every possible nook and cranny. And yet no one is doing anything about it. Things have to change: in the workplace and our communities, our homes and families.

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“Once you know that after just one night of only four or five hours’ sleep, your natural killer cells – the ones that attack the cancer cells that appear in your body every day – drop by 70 per cent per cent, or that a lack of sleep is linked to cancer of the bowel, prostate and breast, or even just that the World Health Organisation has classed any form of night-time shift work as a probable carcinogen, how could you do anything else?”

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And there is a tendency to boast about needing little sleep to function. Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan were said to survive on a few hours a night. Both developed dementia in later life.

“We have stigmatised sleep with the label of laziness,” Professor Walker said.

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The NHS warns sleep deprivation can have “profound consequences on your physical health”.

“One in three of us suffers from poor sleep, with stress, computers and taking work home often blamed,” its website says.

“However, the cost of all those sleepless nights is more than just bad moods and a lack of focus.

“Regular poor sleep puts you at risk of serious medical conditions, including obesity, heart disease and diabetes – and it shortens your life expectancy.

“It’s now clear that a solid night’s sleep is essential for a long and healthy life.”