HOUSTON – Sleep plays a critical role in our health.
This week, you’ve probably heard or said “I’m tired” at least once.
After the time change, Astros Championship Parade, Election Day, and life in general getting a good rest may have been difficult.
Sleep can affect blood pressure, heart health, and immunity.
Dr. Puneet Patni with Kelsey-Seybold Clinic said to sleep whenever you can because getting less than seven to nine hours may lead to long-term health complications such as metabolic syndrome, abnormal blood sugar, heart disease and strokes.
“(There are) A lot of health consequences to not getting enough sleep. I think the biggest is there are a lot of studies, probably not all of them so it’s not 100% clear, but there are a lot of studies showing people not getting enough sleep and chronically, just having increased mortality,” Dr. Patni said.
If you feel like you are getting seven hours to nine hours, but you don’t feel rested, see a doctor.
“If you think you’re giving yourself enough opportunity to sleep, but for some reason, you’re not getting enough sleep whether it’s, ‘I’m waking up a lot at night and I don’t know why.’ If you’re waking up snorting or gasping or the other person in the bed is seeing you stop breathing at night, that’s another thing to check out,” Dr. Patni said.
Patni said putting phones away before bed should be part of the equation too. An hour before sleep try not to look at screens because it may be contributing to sleep deprivation more than you think, Patni added.