Social ‘jet lag’: insufficient sleep is a disease and is on the WHO list

For millions of people, sleeping little and badly is part of the rush of the modern world. There is a certain custom in experiencing the so-called social “jet lag”, as if the problem were just a matter of adapting to schedules. However, what the majority of the population does not know is that this maladjustment is a disease that is on the WHO (World Health Organization) list: it is the Insufficient Sleep Syndrome.

The disease is characterized when the patient sleeps less than necessary as a “chronic deprivation”, which prevents him from achieving restful sleep. Due to the characteristics of society and professional needs, this phenomenon affects a large portion of the population who need to get up very early and sleep very late.

“These are people who suffer from chronic deprivation that is extremely harmful to their health,” says sleep specialist Maíra Honorato, from Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein.

It is estimated that 1 in 3 Americans do not get enough rest: that represents between 50 and 70 million people with chronic sleep problems in the United States. In Brazil, research indicates that almost half of the population has sleep difficulties.

Much more than rest

Sleeping means more than resting: “If sleep did not play an extremely important role in vital processes, it would have no evolutionary sense”, recalls the expert. He is responsible for restoring all physical and cognitive functions of the human being.

When sleeping, the person experiences a drop in heart rate and blood pressure, in addition to the release of hormones involved in cell repair, hunger control and the immune system. There are also other processes that only happen at night, when the brain experiences all stages of sleep.

There is a real brain cleaning with the elimination of metabolic waste. The so-called glymphatic system comes into play and increases the flow of cerebrospinal fluid, which drains it.

Studies done mainly with guinea pigs have shown that sleep-deprived individuals have more inflammatory elements related to Alzheimer’s: “When they [elementos] accumulate over time, compromise brain plasticity, contributing to degeneration”, explains physician Maíra Honorato.

No wonder, less time to rest at night increases the risk of physical and mental problems, including chronic cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, depression, in addition to attention and memory problems.