I only get a few hours of sleep everyday. Is that harmful to me?
Skimping on sleep plays havoc with important hormones, possibly harming brain cells, depleting the immune system, and promoting the growth of fat instead of muscle. Sleep deprivation may speed up the aging process. Lack of sleep dulls the brain, saps energy, increases irritability and depression, and makes people more accident-prone. Researchers found that a lack of sleep causes blood levels of the stress hormone cortisol to go up, while two other important hormones – muscle-building human growth hormone and prolactin, which oversees the immune defense system – to go down.
