Career, Work, and Health (3)

We all enjoy our daily work and some may be even addicted to work.  But, do remember to take enough sleep to live a longer and healthier life.

• Enjoy Good Night Sleep and Live Longer

Below are some highlights from the article.

Sleep—The Most Important Predictor of How long You'll Live

There is strong evidence supporting the argument that the amount of time you sleep—even more than whether you smoke, exercise, or have high blood pressure or cholesterol levels—could be the most important predictor of how long you'll live.

On average, adults need 7-9 hours of sleep to stay healthy every night. Those who slept 5 hours or less a night had a 15% greater mortality risk compared with those sleeping 7 hours. While not getting enough sleep is clearly associated with increased health risks, so is getting too much sleep. Those who slept 9 hours had a 42% increase in mortality risk.

Too Little Sleep May Fuel Insulin Resistance

• Sleep deficiency results in a higher than normal blood sugar level, which may increase your risk for diabetes.
• After four nights of sleep deprivation (sleep time was only 4.5 hours per night), study participants' insulin sensitivity was 16 percent lower, while their fat cells' insulin sensitivity was 30 percent lower, and rivaled levels seen in those with diabetes or obesity.
• Researchers at the University of Chicago found that losing just 3 to 4 hours of sleep over a period of several days is enough to trigger metabolic changes that are consistent with a prediabetic state.

See Also

• Other Travel and Health articles

Career, Work, and Health

Read my article on "The Pros and Cons of Flu Vaccination."  Here are the cons of flu vaccination:

• Flu vaccine appeared to actually increase people's risk of getting sick with H1N1, and cause more serious bouts of illness to boot.
• Natural infection is more beneficial
• Seasonal flu vaccine may weaken your natural immunity
• The flu shot covers less than 10 percent of the circulating viruses creating these illness.
• Some patients developed Guillain-Barre syndrome after getting a seasonal flu shot (see the video)
• The age-related decline of the immune system affects the body’s response to vaccination
• Could we vaccinate our kids too early and too much?
• Each dose flu vaccine contains traces of formaldehyde and 25 micrograms of thimerosal (a mercury containing compound; a preservative).
• There are known adverse reactions to the flu vaccine

You can find more health articles here.