ladbible homepage
ladbible homepage
  • Home
  • News
    • UK
    • US
    • World
    • Ireland
    • Australia
    • Science
    • Crime
    • Weather
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV
    • Film
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • Netflix
    • Disney
  • Sport
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Money
  • Originals
    • FFS PRODUCTIONS
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Citizen Reef
  • Videos
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content Here
  • GAMINGbible
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • UNILAD Tech
Here's what happens to your body when you get less than seven hours sleep
Home>News
Published 13:58 9 Feb 2023 GMT

Here's what happens to your body when you get less than seven hours sleep

Elon Musk famously once said he gets just six hours a night

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

We've all seen Elon Musk's humble brags in the past about how he's too busy to sleep, having once claimed that he survives on six hours' rest each night.

Back in 2013, the Tesla billionaire revealed he had managed to figure out what the perfect amount of sleep is for him to function at the highest possible level.

"I tried to figure out what's the right amount of sleep," Musk told CHM Revolutionaries in 2013.

"I found I could drop below a certain threshold of sleep, and although I'd be awake more hours and I could sustain it, I would get less done because my mental acuity would be affected.

Advert

"So, I found, generally, the right number for me is around six to six-and-a half-hours, on average, per night."

Elon Musk previously claimed he sleeps just six hours a night.
AC NewsPhoto/Alamy Stock Photo

These comments later prompted Arianna Huffington - the co-founder of the Huffington Post and author of a book called The Sleep Revolution - to write him an open letter, telling him that he's demonstrating 'a wildly outdated, anti-scientific and horribly inefficient way of using human energy'.

Musk's response? Tweeting at 2.30am to say that he's just got home from his factory, adding: "You think this is an option. It is not."

But Business Insider previously reported that it could also be a dangerous approach, as sleep deprivation can have serious consequences on your body.

While some of those aren't surprising - being sleep-deprived impacts your short and long-term memory; you have slower reactions; you become clumsier and it leads to irritability, for instance - there are other repercussions that are a little more sinister.

How much sleep do you normally get?
Hero Images Inc./Alamy Stock Photo

According to Business Insider, various studies have shown that sleep deprivation has been linked to an increased risk of certain cancers like colon and breast cancer, as well as Alzheimer's disease, type 2 diabetes, and inflammatory bowel disease.

Similarly, some studies have noted that sleeping helps cleanse the brain of the beta-amyloid protein that can build up when you're awake. That's a protein that's linked to Alzheimer's disease.

It can also apparently worsen existing conditions like asthma, arthritis, Crohn's disease and cardiovascular disease.

Oh, and here's another pretty dark one: sleep deprivation and disturbed sleep are often associated with reduced libido and sexual dysfunction in both women and men. That's because being awake decreases your levels of testosterone - an important element of your sex drive.

What's more, researchers have found that young adults who don't get enough sleep are less likely to connect with other people on a social level, meaning many often feel more lonely as a result.

Those people then don't tend to sleep as well, meaning we're left with one big, tired and lonely vicious cycle.

Basically, many of us may like to come across as superhuman people who are too busy working or partying for menial stuff like sleep, but there's no shame in getting a decent night's kip.

So rest up, have a nap, enjoy it. Zzzzzzzz.

Featured Image Credit: dpa picture alliance / Alamy Stock Photo

Topics: Elon Musk, Sleep, Health

Jess Hardiman
Jess Hardiman

Jess is Entertainment Desk Lead at LADbible Group. She graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

X

@Jess_Hardiman

Recommended reads

Why opening your windows during a heatwave isn't a great idea and what to do insteadNiloufar Nemati/UnsplashObsession director says the hit movie has 'plot hole' that 'makes no sense' Universal Pictures Nicolas Cage says Christopher Nolan 'won't call him back' after he turned down role GettySophie Rain claims basketball star offered her $15 million for her virginity Instagram/@sophieraiin

Advert

Choose your content:

an hour ago
9 hours ago
10 hours ago
11 hours ago
  • Niloufar Nemati/Unsplash
    an hour ago

    Why opening your windows during a heatwave isn't a great idea and what to do instead

    Brits are set for another scorcher today, after yesterday became the hottest May bank holiday ever

    News
  • Facebook/Garrett Day
    9 hours ago

    Student sent heartbreaking text to family just minutes before she was killed by drunk driver

    He was allegedly nearly three times over the legal blood alcohol limit in Florida

    News
  • X/TNT Sports
    10 hours ago

    Moment tennis player Arthur Gea threatens to 'sh*t on the court' after altercation with umpire

    He bluntly told the officials he was suffering from an upset stomach during the French Open match

    News
  • Arthur Salome/Instagram
    11 hours ago

    Living Nostradamus has chilling prediction that will decide the future of global order

    The final frontier of human civilisation could very well be its next battlefield

    News
  • Scientists say the ‘perfect’ amount of sleep is actually less than 8 hours
  • Sleep expert shares heatwave tips amid caution your fan could be a hay fever trigger
  • Grim reason you should never let your dog sleep in your bed
  • Timeline of what happens to your body when you stop taking creatine