Credits: Social Media
Your bad sleeping habits could lead to an early death, doctor warns
If you want an early death, sleep 4-5 hours a night, says Dr Dan Friederich. Hes out to inform people that sleeping too little can have dire consequences. But is his PSA worded in the most constructive way?
Sleeping too much can harm your health too, although the knock-on effects of sleeping 9-10 hours a night dont appear to be as bad as those associated with sleep deprivation. One sleep expert says as much as 80% of us could be living with sleep apnea a sleep disorder that makes your breath stop and start while unconscious without even knowing it. Another champions a particular temperature range for optimal sleeping conditions. Meanwhile, the bee in Dr Friederichs bonnet has to do with hours slept.
You cant survive on 4-5 hours of sleep, according to eye doctor
If you think that you can survive on only 4-5 hours of sleep every night, youre going to have an early death.
Thats the bold and, frankly, alarming PSA from TikToks Dr Dan Friederich. Hes the founder of Eyeganics, an organic eye drop.�
He says the optimal amount of sleep is between 6 and 8 hours per night, preferably at least 7.
If you go more than 9 hours, its also bad for your health, but sleeping less than 5 is the worst thing you could possibly be doing.
Sleeping too little increases your all-cause mortality risk across the board, he says, as well as contributing to cardiovascular risk. All types of diseases are associated with sleeping that little, he concludes.
Advice best taken with a pinch of salt and a dose of realism
Is sleeping less than five hours the worst thing you could possibly be doing ? No, it isnt. There are worse things. Dr Friederich’s claims are alarmist, defined by Merriam-Webster as the often unwarranted exciting of fears or warning of danger.
Dr Friederich may not have heard of short sleeper syndrome (SSS), a condition where you need less sleep than most people. Most people with SSS sleep fewer than six hours of sleep per night and suffer no negative consequences as a result.�
Sleeping too little indeed inhibits your immune systems ability to defend your body.�
Your body needs sleep to fight infectious diseases, writes Mayo Clinic. Long-term lack of sleep also increases your risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) disease.
However, he is painting with very broad brushstrokes when he says that all types of diseases are associated with sleeping for less than five hours a night.�
It’s also important to recognize that missing out on a few hours here and there is unlikely to have negative long-term health consequences. Chronic anxiety (caused by, for example, counterproductive social media alarmism) can, like chronic sleep deprivation, “can cause physical stress on your body, especially to your nervous, cardiovascular, digestive, immune, and respiratory systems.”
Does anybody really want an early death?
Nor is it constructive to link sleep deprivation with early death in peoples minds. What does early death mean? Death by 30? Death by 60?
Theres an important distinction to make between non-comparative adjectives and comparative, i.e., between words like early and earlier.
Consistently sleeping too little increases your risk of all-cause mortality, meaning it means youre at greater risk of dying earlier. But it doesnt mean you will die early, period.�
Dr Friederichs word choice is therefore misleading, and his phrasing � if you want an early death provocative if not bizarre. Still, his video contains some truth. Sleeping too little is bad for your health, both physical and mental.
