How does a lack of sleep affect the body?

A consensus found that the average UK person gets 6.4 hours sleep per night ¹ this falls well below the NHS’s recommendation of 8 hours per night!

We all do it, but what exactly is it?

Normal human sleep comprises two main types—non-rapid eye movement sleep (non-REM) and REM sleep.²
REM sleep is our dream state of sleep
Non-REM sleep has four different stages to it. In each stage, the depth of sleep increases with the last third and fourth stages being our most restorative stages of sleep.

How much should we be sleeping?

The amount of sleep we need changes depending on what age we are.
7 to 9 hours of sleep per night is recommended for healthy adults.
Studies recommend that athletes need 9 to 10 hours of total sleep to reach their full potential. ³

“Elite athletes need at least 8 hours sleep per night to feel rested, but more than 70% of athletes do not obtain the sleep they need on a regular basis” ¹⁹

How does a lack of sleep affect our body?

Sleep is essential for the brain and the body and overall health.
Sleep loss has been shown to impair cognition,⁴ learning and memory consolidation ⁵ and mental well-being⁶
Studies have shown that people who reported poor sleep had poorer general health, increased confusion and increased stress ⁷
A 2018 study examining over 3,000 people (men and women aged 40–89 years) reported that sleeping 6 hours or less a night was associated with a 33% increased risk of a car crash compared to those sleeping 7 or 8 hours a night. ⁸
Lack of sleep has also been shown to disrupt growth and repair of cells,⁹metabolism of glucose,¹⁰ lowers the protective immune response to vaccination,^11,12 and lowers resistance to respiratory infections.¹³
Inadequate sleep has also been linked to coronary artery calcification ¹⁴ which is a major predictor for coronary heart disease.
Some recent studies suggest that short sleep duration during midlife could increase the risk of developing dementia later in life. ¹⁵

Correlation between Sports Injuries, Musculoskeletal Pain and Poor Sleep

A study on adolescent teenage girls showed results suggesting that insufficient quantity or quality of sleep is a risk factor or at least associated with neck and low back pain. ¹⁶
Research has found evidence linking chronic suboptimal sleep with an increased risk of sports injuries and musculoskeletal pain.
The amount of sleep that has consistently been found to be associated with increased risk of injury is ≤7 hours of sleep.
≤7 hours of sleep sustained for periods of at least 14 days has been associated with a 1.7 times greater risk of musculoskeletal injury. ¹⁷
A study in 2019 found a link between insomnia and daytime sleepiness with increased sports- related concussion risk. ¹⁸

Tips to improve your sleep

Maintain a routine of waking up and going to bed at similar times
Have a cool temperature in the room
Use an eye mask or ear plugs if needed
Black out curtains or eliminating light from the room
Reduced screen time before bed
Reduce caffeine intake, particularly later in the day
Increase exercise
Meditation and breathing exercises
Invest in a good mattress and pillows
If you can’t sleep after 20 minutes get up and do a task/walk around

How can physiotherapy help?

Respiratory physio for management of ongoing respiratory conditions, issues with sputum clearance or chronic cough can improve sleep quality.
If you are feeling sore or have ‘niggles’ our physiotherapists can get on top of these to prevent them becoming injuries.
Your physio can help you with neck, jaw and back pain relating to poor sleep.
If your pain is preventing you from getting a good night’s sleep, come in for an assessment and we can help your pain to ensure you get a good night’s sleep!

Recommendations

For further reading Matthew Walker – Why We Sleep is an excellent read!

References

Research conducted by Censuswide in August 2018 across a nationally representative sample of 2,000 UK adults
Carskadon MA , Dement WC. Monitoring and staging human sleep. In: Kryger MH , Roth T , Dement WC , eds. Principles and practice of sleep medicine. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Saunders, 2011: 16–26
Bonnar D, Bartel K, Kakoschke N, Lang C. Sleep Interventions Designed to Improve Athletic Performance and Recovery: A Systematic Review of Current Approaches. Sports Med. 2018 Mar;48(3):683-703.
Belenky G , Wesensten NJ , Thorne DR , et al. Patterns of performance degradation and restoration during sleep restriction and subsequent recovery: a sleep dose-response study. J Sleep Res 2003;12:1–12.
Walker MP, Stickgold R. It’s practice, with sleep, that makes perfect: implications of Sleep-Dependent learning and plasticity for skill performance. Clin Sports Med 2005;24:301–17.
Haack M, Mullington JM. Sustained sleep restriction reduces emotional and physical well-being. Pain 2005;119:56–64
Michelle Biggins, Roisin Cahalan, Thomas Comyns, Helen Purtill & Kieran O’Sullivan (2018) Poor sleep is related to lower general health, increased stress and increased confusion in elite Gaelic athletes, The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 46:1, 14-20
Gottlieb, D.J., Ellenbogen, J.M., Bianchi, M.T. et al. Sleep deficiency and motor vehicle crash risk in the general population: a prospective cohort study. BMC Med 16, 44 (2018
Czeisler CA, Klerman EB. Circadian and sleep-dependent regulation of hormone release in humans. Recent Prog Horm Res 1999;54:97–130. discussion 30-2
Spiegel K, Leproult R, Van Cauter E. Impact of sleep debt on metabolic and endocrine function. Lancet 1999;354:1435–9.
Lange T, Perras B, Fehm HL , et al. Sleep enhances the human antibody response to hepatitis A vaccination. Psychosom Med 2003;65:831–5
Spiegel K, Sheridan JF, Van Cauter E. Effect of sleep deprivation on response to Immunizaton. JAMA 2002;288:1471–2
Cohen S, Doyle WJ, Alper CM , et al. Sleep habits and susceptibility to the common cold. Arch Intern Med 2009;169:62–7.9) Cohen S, Doyle WJ, Alper CM , et al. Sleep habits and susceptibility to the common cold. Arch Intern Med 2009;169:62–7.
King, C. R., Knutson, K. L., Rathouz, P. J., Sidney, S., Liu, K., & Lauderdale, D. S. (2008). Short sleep duration and incident coronary artery calcification. JAMA, 300(24), 2859–2866.
Sabia, S., Fayosse, A., Dumurgier, J. et al. Association of sleep duration in middle and old age with incidence of dementia. Nat Commun 12, 2289 (2021)
Auvinen JP, Tammelin TH, Taimela SP, Zitting PJ. Is insufficient quantity and quality of sleep a risk factor for neck, shoulder and low back pain? A longitudinal study among adolescents. Eur. Spine J. 2010; 19:641–9.
Huang K, Ihm J. Sleep and Injury Risk. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2021 Jun 1;20(6):286-290.
Raikes AC, Athey A, Alfonso-Miller P, et al. Insomnia and daytime sleepiness: risk factors for sports-related concussion. Sleep Med. 2019; 58:66–74
Sargent C, Lastella M, Halson SL, Roach GD. How Much Sleep Does an Elite Athlete Need? Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2021 May 21;16(12):1746-1757.