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of a book called The Sleep Revolution - to write him an open letter, telling him that he's demonstrating 'a wildly outdated, anti-scientific and horribly inefficient way of using human energy'.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

What happened to The Little Rascals child actor Brittany Ashton Holmes after she disappeared from HollywoodABCAstronauts returning from space today will need to relearn how to walk after spending 241 days aboard ISSNASA/YouTubeCancer survivor who had four inches of penis removed recalls excruciating 'first sign' he ignoredLADbibleInfluencer killed by husband two weeks after accusing him of paedophilia on TikTokGoFundMe

Advert

  • Scientists say the ‘perfect’ amount of sleep is actually less than 8 hours
  • Grim reason you should never let your dog sleep in your bed
  • Timeline of what happens to your body when you stop taking creatine
  • Day-by-day timeline of what happens to your body when you stop drinking

Choose your content:

17 mins ago
an hour ago
2 hours ago
  • NASA/YouTube
    17 mins ago

    Astronauts returning from space today will need to relearn how to walk after spending 241 days aboard ISS

    Spending a long time in zero gravity can result in quite a shock when you come back to Earth

    News
  • LADbible
    an hour ago

    Cancer survivor who had four inches of penis removed recalls excruciating 'first sign' he ignored

    Steven Hamill recalled how at one point, he had blood dripping from his penis in 'a puddle all over his kitchen'

    News
  • GoFundMe
    an hour ago

    Influencer killed by husband two weeks after accusing him of paedophilia on TikTok

    Her estranged husband killed her in her home after she accused him

    News
  • Family Handout
    2 hours ago

    Nolan Wells' friend explains what happened to his phone as parents believe it may be a clue into son's death

    Nolan Wells left his phone on the boat when he visited the island

    News