Sleep Deprivation Doubles Risks of Obesity
Research by Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick has found that sleep deprivation is associated with an almost a two-fold increased risk of being obese for both children and adults.
I am always fascinated by studies that show how our modern lifestyle seems to directly disrupt the natural bio-rhythms of our bodies and minds. Our technological culture seems to continually increase the separation between humans and our environment. We don’t go outside as much as our ancestors; have decreased physical activity, cheat the sun with interior illumination, sleep too little on sporadic schedules, and eat foods that are wholly man-made. While these advances certainly make us more productive, I often wonder if they come at the expense of our overall health, happiness, and well-being.
I like to compare our lifestyles to that of people that lived one hundred years ago. Certainly I am generalizing, but it is safe to say most people worked out doors from morning until dusk; lack of transportation and other sophisticated machinery meant that much of their work was manual labor; they ate fresh foods often cultivated by their own hands; woke with the sun and slept by the moon.
As for me I typically get up by 6:30 am regardless of the time of year – in the winter it is dark, in the summers rather light. I sit in an air conditioned room at a computer for 8-12 hours per day, then sit some more in my car as I commute and only see the light of day filtered through glass. I try to eat right, but like anyone else consume too much refined sugar, bleached flour, salt, and caffeine – more of it coming from a box than the produce isle. I end the day with leisure activities that are more likely to include video games and movies (more sedentary time) than sports and exercise. The day ends around midnight – long past sundown.
While I consider myself to be blessed with good health, I suspect it could be better. Would I be more productive, creative, happy, and relaxed if my day was more like the guy one hundred years ago? Would I be less prone to cancer if I spent my days in the warm sunshine growing a garden for my family, fully experiencing the solar cycle? I have to think that we are more tied to the biology of this planet than we admit as a species and our constant struggles to best mother nature may ultimately be in vain.