Health watch: Late night football sleep loss

Sleep loss leads to weight gain, memory loss, dark baggy eyes, road accidents, horrible sleepy feelings, anger, impatience & lack of concentration. Alcohol makes it worse.

Photo below of young woman with baggy eyes and dark circles around her eyes (after a night of watching late night football) a common effect of  minor sleep deprivation (Source: Wikipedia).

Click button to listen to Sleep Loss from Football to download


Family
INTOUCH

Wake up

Euro 2012 may have health complications for Thai football fans
12/06/2012
Assoc Prof Dittakarn Boriboonhirunsar

The Euro 2012 event this month is exciting for many football fans around the world. However, watching live broadcasts of late-night matches may cause some problems for football fans here in Thailand - inadequate sleep or sleep loss.

After a week, we may get used to a sleep-deprived schedule, but our bodily functions can still be impaired. Although there is little evidence that lack of sleep or sleep deprivation causes any immediate damage to the body, it certainly affects how you feel and how your brain works, and it can interfere with work and home life. If it goes on for a long time, there may be some risk that it can cause health problems

SLEEP

Sleep is as essential for our health and wellbeing as food and water. The amount of sleep a person needs depends on many factors including age, physical activity levels, general health and other factors. For example, infants require about 16 hours of sleep a day, teenagers need about nine hours on average, and most adults need seven to eight hours per night.

The amount needed also increases if he or she has been deprived of sleep in previous days. Getting too little sleep creates a "sleep debt", which is much like being overdrawn at a bank. Eventually, your body will demand you repay the debt.

THE CONSEQUENCES

Sleep loss may result in drowsiness during the day, irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate and moodiness. Sleep debt contributes to a greater tendency to fall asleep during the daytime, which increases the risk of falls and mistakes, especially road accidents.

Driving simulators or hand-eye coordination tests demonstrate that sleep-deprived people perform as badly or worse than those who are intoxicated. Moreover, sleep deprivation has been shown to magnify alcohol's effects on the body, so a fatigued person who drinks will become much more impaired than someone who is well rested. Caffeine and other stimulants cannot overcome the effects of severe sleep deprivation

More importantly, aside from these bothersome side effects, too little sleep may relate to many health problems. It may prevent the brain from committing new information to memory and it can reduce immediate recall, although information acquired before sleep deprivation remains normal.

Chronic sleep deprivation may cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates, and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite. In addition, serious sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels and irregular heartbeat.

Sleep deprivation also alters immune function and increases the chances of becoming sick.

While more research is needed to explore the links between sleep loss and health, it's safe to say that sleep is too important to shortchange. So, football fans, please take good care of your sleep time to be healthy for the final match.

Assoc Prof Dittakarn Boriboonhirunsarn is a member of the Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital. Email: [email protected]

(Source: Bangkok Post, Family, INTOUCH, Wake up, Euro 2012 may have health complications for Thai football fans, 12/06/2012, Assoc Prof Dittakarn Boriboonhirunsarn, link) 

Sleep Vocabulary

sleep - การหลับ (See Wikipedia)
wake up - the end of sleep  ตื่น,  ตื่นขึ้น

lack - does not have ขาดแคลน
lack of sleep  - did not get enough sleep

dark circles around the eyes - (See Wikipedia)
baggy eyes - (See Wikipedia)

deprivation - not having enough of the things you need to live
sleep deprivation -  "the condition of not having enough sleep ... a chronic sleep-restricted state can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness and weight loss or weight gain. It adversely affects the brain and cognitive function. ... long-term total sleep deprivation has caused death in lab animals" (See Wikipedia)
sleep deprived driving - (See Wikipedia)

deprived (verb) - not getting something you need to have 
deprived of sleep
sleep-deprived schedule

chronic - lasting for a long time
chronic sleep deprivation 

sleep loss - getting less than the normal amount of sleep
inadequate - not enough, or not good enough for a particular purpose อย่างไม่เพียงพอ
inadequate sleep - not getting enough sleep

sleep disorders - diseases that cause lack of sleep or too much sleep (See Wikipedia)

complications - other illnesses, which make an illness worse โรคแทรกซ้อน อาการแทรกซ้อน
health complications 

Euro 2012 may have health complications for Thai football fans

live broadcasts -  shows on TV and radio that happen as you watch them

The Euro 2012 event this month is exciting for many football fans around the world. However, watching live broadcasts of late-night matches may cause some problems for football fans here in Thailand - inadequate sleep or sleep loss.

get used to - when something seems normal because you do it often
get used to a sleep-deprived schedule

bodily functions - things that our body does (heart sending blood to tissues of body, lungs taking in oxygen, expelling carbon dioxide, urinating, defecating,...)
impaired - not working correctly or normally

our bodily functions can still be impaired

evidence - information that shows and proves something to be true หลักฐาน

there is little evidence that lack of sleep causes any immediate damage to the body,

interfere - to deliberately become involved in a situation and try to influence the way that it develops, although you have no right to do this การจงใจแทรกแซง

it can interfere with work and home life

goes on for a long time - continues for a long time
risk - the possibility that something dangerous or unpleasant might happen ความเสี่ยง

If it goes on for a long time, there may be some risk that it can cause health problems

After a week, we may get used to a sleep-deprived schedule, but our bodily functions can still be impaired. Although there is little evidence that lack of sleep or sleep deprivation causes any immediate damage to the body, it certainly affects how you feel and how your brain works, and it can interfere with work and home life. If it goes on for a long time, there may be some risk that it can cause health problems

essential - necessary and important ที่จำเป็น ที่สำคัญ
factors - one of the things that effects a situation or event ปัจจัย

physical - real things that can be touched and seen (not just an idea or legal right)
physical activity levels - doing things with your body, moving your body around, exercise (not just sitting on a chair or at a desk)

infants - babies

Sleep is as essential for our health and wellbeing as food and water. The amount of sleep a person needs depends on many factors including age, physical activity levels, general health and other factors. For example, infants require about 16 hours sleep a day, teenagers need about nine hours on average, and most adults need seven to eight hours per night

debt - an amount of money that you owe หนี้
sleep debt - when you do not get enough sleep for many days (then you have to sleep a lot, like paying back borrowed money)

overdrawn at the bank - when a person spends more money than they have in the bank (with credit card or covered by loan, or a bad check which is illegal)

The amount needed also increases if he or she has been deprived of sleep in previous days. Getting too little sleep creates a "sleep debt", which is much like being overdrawn at a bank. Eventually, your body will demand you repay the debt

the consequences - things that happen as a result of doing something, results 
drowsiness - feeling sleepy

irritability - getting angry easily
impatience - being annoyed and irritated because you have to wait for something to happen

concentrate - to give most of your attention to one aim or activity เพ่งความสนใจไปยัง มุ่งไปที่
inability to concentrate

mood - being happy or angry and acting in this way with others
moodiness - when your mood changes quickly (not staying the same but jumping around)

Sleep loss may result in drowsiness during the day, irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate and moodiness. Sleep debt contributes to a greater tendency to fall asleep during the daytime, which increases the risk of falls and mistakes, especially road accidents

driving simulators - machines that you learn to drive in

coordination - 1. working together to do things; 2. the act of making all the people involved in a plan or activity work together in an organised way การประสานกัน

hand-eye coordination - when the hands and the eyes work together to complete some task (like driving a car)
hand-eye coordination tests - tests that are used to see whether a person can use their hands and eyes together to complete tasks (if they are drunk or too sleepy they cannot do this)

demonstrate that - show how something works and explain how it works สาธิต

intoxicated - drunk; drink too much clcohol (beer, whisky, etc)

magnify - make bigger
magnify alcohol's effects on the body - make more drunk (and lose body control)

fatigue - being tired
a fatigued person

caffeine - the chemical in coffee
stimulants - chemicals that keep awake and your brain alert and full of energy (in M150 and coffee and tea, for example)

severe - very serious and worrying ที่รุนแรง ที่น่าเป็นห่วง
severe sleep deprivation

overcome - solve a problem or put and end to a difficulty ต่อสู้อุปสรรคจนสำเร็จสำมารถดำเนินการต่อไปได้
overcome the effects of severe sleep deprivation

Driving simulators or hand-eye coordination tests demonstrate that sleep-deprived people perform as badly or worse than those who are intoxicated. Moreover, sleep deprivation has been shown to magnify alcohol's effects on the body, so a fatigued person who drinks will become much more impaired than someone who is well rested. Caffeine and other stimulants cannot overcome the effects of severe sleep deprivation

bothersome - annoying, irritating
side effects - other effects that happen in addition to the main effect  
bothersome side effects

memory - something that you remember from the past; the ability to remember information, experiences and people ความจำ
committing new information to memory

recall - remembering; bring something into your mind (a memory, an image, etc)
immediate recall - remember right now (without having to think first) 

acquire - get
acquired - that the person received
information acquired before sleep deprivation  

remains - unchanged, no change yet, still unchanged
remains normal - still normal

More importantly, aside from these bothersome side effects, too little sleep may relate to many health problems. It may prevent the brain from committing new information to memory and it can reduce immediate recall, although information acquired before sleep deprivation remains normal.

carbohydrates - the chemicals that supply your body with energy found in sugars and starches such as bread, rice and potatoes (See Wikipedia)

process - a series of actions that you take in order to achieve a result แนวทางปฏิบัติ, กระบวน, วิธีการ
process and store carbohydrates

appetite - the natural feeling of wanting to eat น้ำย่อย ความอยากอาหาร a desire for food ความอยากอาหาร

hormones - chemicals in the bodies of animals and plants that control things like growth and sexual development and function, a way of sending signals around the body that is slower and usually longer lasting than the nervous system (See Wikipedia)

appetite - wanting to eat food

altering - changing เปลี่ยนแปลง
altering levels of hormones
altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite

stress - difficulties or pressures that could cause failure; when you worry and think too much about problems
stress (biology) - (See Wikipedia)

stress hormones - hormones such as cortisol and norepinephrine released by the body in dangerous situations, these hormones "act by mobilizing energy from storage to muscles, increasing heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rate and shutting down metabolic processes such as digestion, reproduction, growth and immunity. Constant stress causes continual release of various stress hormones which can cause: ... high blood pressure and ... stress-induced hypertension" (See Wikipedia)
stress hormone levels

hypertension - high blood pressure ความดันโลหิตสูง (See Wikipedia)

linked - connected to เชื่อมโยง
linked to hypertension

irregular heartbeat - arrythmias, when your heart beats too or too slow or in patterns that change all the time (irregular patterns) (See Wikipedia)

Chronic sleep deprivation may cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates, and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite. In addition, serious sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels and irregular heartbeat.

immune system - the system in the body that fights disease, prevents you from getting sick (See Wikipedia)
immune function - how well the immune system is working

alters - changes
alters immune function

Sleep deprivation also alters immune function and increases the chances of becoming sick.

links - connections ความเชื่อมโยงกัน
the links between sleep loss and health

give change - when a buyer gives aseller too much (100 baht) for something cheaper (58 baht) and the seller gives back the difference (42 baht )
shortchange - 1. not give enough attention to something that is needed; 2. not give enough change back to a customer

the final match - the last game of many games (last in a series of games)

While more research is needed to explore the links between sleep loss and health, it's safe to say that sleep is too important to shortchange. So, football fans, please take good care of your sleep time to be healthy for the final match.