Beware... Lack of Sleep can kill you

I got this little piece of information via email and i thought it is worth sharing.

Remember and beware : Lack of sleep, KILLS YOU!!!

Some Excerpts:

· Short sleep duration ( <5 or 5-6 hours ) increased risk for high Blood Pressure, BP by 350% to 500% compared to those who slept longer than 6 hours per night. Paper published in 2009. As you know, high BLOOD PRESSURE, BP kills.

· Young people ( 25-49 years of age ) are twice as likely to get high BP if they sleep less. Paper published in 2006.

· Individuals who slept less than 5 hours a night had a 3-fold increased risk of heart attacks. Paper published in 1999.

· Complete and partial lack of sleep increased the blood concentrations of High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-cRP), the strongest predictor of heart attacks. Even after getting adequate sleep later, the levels stayed high!!

· Just one night of sleep loss increases very toxic substances in body such as Interleukin-6 (IL! -6), Tumour Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF-alpha) and C-reactive protein (cRP). They increase risks of many medical conditions, including cancer, arthritis and heart disease. Paper published in 2004.

· Sleeping for <=5 hours per night leads to 39% increase in heart disease. Sleeping for <=6 hours per night leads to 18% increase in heart disease. Paper published in 2006.

Ideal Sleep

For lack of space, I cannot explain here the ideal sleep architecture. But in brief, sleep is composed of two stages: REM ( Rapid Eye Movement ) and non-REM. The former helps in mental consolidation while the latter helps in physical repair and rebuilding. During the night, you alternate between REM and non-REM stages 4-5 times.

The earlier part of sleep is mostly non-REM. During that period, your pituitary gland releases growth hormones that repair your body. The latter part of sleep is more and more REM type.

For you to be mentally alert during the day, ! the latter part of sleep is more important. No wonder when you wake up with an alarm clock after 5-6 hours of sleep, you are mentally irritable throughout the day (lack of REM sleep). And if you have slept for less than 5 hours, your body is in a complete physical mess ( lack of non-REM sleep ), you are tired throughout the day, moving like a zombie and your immunity is way down ( I’ve been there, done that ).

Finally, as long-distance runners, you need an hour of extra sleep to repair the running related damage.

"Happiness is a state of mind, and its a choice: do not wait for it from others or from circumstances. Its always from YOU!"

Game of death, 0.5 seconds separated a teenager from being crushed to death by a high speed train in Adelaide, Australia

Kids and people, do not try this at home. This is sure death. Only luck saved this stupid Australian teenager from certain death, sometimes in April 2011.

He played a game of death with an oncoming high speed train at Mawson Lakes train station in Adelaide, Australia and was lucky to be alive. Only 0.5 seconds separate him from life and death.



Disturbing security camera footage, recorded at the station and from inside the train, shows the stupid teenager running across tracks an diving across the path of an express train.

This stupid guy barely managed to scramble on to the platform.

Half a second late and the more than 10 tonne train would have smashed and crushed him to pieces beyond recognition as a second camera attached to one of the carriages reveals.

The dramatic video was released by Transport South Australia in the hope that it will deter others from taking chances with trains.

The crazy teenager, is only 17 and he would have meet God at that tender age if he was unlucky.

If he tried this again, he would certainly be playing this game in other world.

The teenager was lucky to escape with only a broken ankle.

For his stupid and sickening daredevil act, he was convicted in the Elizabeth Youth Court on charges of stopping a train in motion without a reasonable excuse.

He was ordered by the magistrate to undertake a community service order, write a letter of apology to the driver and pay the prosecution costs.

The incident, stopped peak-hour services for more than two hours while it was being investigated.