Here's some bad news for hard-working City folk who tend to burn the candle at both ends: missing out on sleep could actually shorten your life, according to a scientist. In a new work, Matthew Walker, a sleep scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, says lack of sleep can play a part in the development of, among other things, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity and poor mental health. In an interview with the Guardian to promote his new book, Why We Sleep, Walker explains the effects a lack of sleep can have on the human body. No aspect of our biology is left unscathed by sleep deprivation. It sinks down into every possible nook and cranny. According to his research, "natural killer cells" - cells produced naturally by the body to attack cancer cells - drop by 70 per cent after just one night of four or five hours' sleep. He also points out that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has classified night-time shift work as a "probable carcinogen". A lack of sleep can also cause the body to become less responsive to insulin, effectively making you more susceptible to weight gain, and cause the toxic protein responsible for Alzheimer's to accumulate in the brain. Matthew Walker:The Shorter You Sleep,The Shorter Your Life Will Be By Unknown Monday, September 25, 2017 Share Tweet Share Share Email Here's some bad news for hard-working City folk who tend to burn the candle at both ends: missing out on sleep could actually shorten your life, according to a scientist. In a new work, Matthew Walker, a sleep scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, says lack of sleep can play a part in the development of, among other things, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity and poor mental health. In an interview with the Guardian to promote his new book, Why We Sleep, Walker explains the effects a lack of sleep can have on the human body. No aspect of our biology is left unscathed by sleep deprivation. It sinks down into every possible nook and cranny. According to his research, "natural killer cells" - cells produced naturally by the body to attack cancer cells - drop by 70 per cent after just one night of four or five hours' sleep. He also points out that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has classified night-time shift work as a "probable carcinogen". A lack of sleep can also cause the body to become less responsive to insulin, effectively making you more susceptible to weight gain, and cause the toxic protein responsible for Alzheimer's to accumulate in the brain. No comments Comment Here
