I hear it all the time… “I don’t need more sleep, Doc. I get 4 or 5 hours and wake up just fine.”
Unfortunately, you do need more sleep. The reason you feel fine on 4 or 5 hours is because your adrenal glands are pumping out cortisol and adrenaline to keep you going, and that’s why you feel great on little sleep. Add to that the coffee, colas, and sugar you may be eating, and it’s a recipe for long term health disaster.
Once you start to burn out, it may take up to 2 years of recovery to heal yourself. And that’s not a pretty 2 years. Believe me, I’ve been there.
This morning on It’s a Pair-A-Docs, we’ll talk about the health problems that sleep deprivation causes (and no, you can’t really “catch up” on weekends) and give you practical tips to start getting the sleep you need.
Everybody should listen to this show. Especially if you’re one of those “I get 4 hours and feel just fine, thankyouverymuch” folks.
Tune your radio to AM1380 if you live in the Antelope Valley or listen online at RadioTime Online. That’s 11 a.m. PST, today! (Just a couple hours from now).
🙂
~Dr. M