Resources for Better Sleep Health

Education is key to treatment.

Your sleep health is essential to your physical and mental well-being. Our sleep specialists at Novant Health can provide the resources you need to get a proper diagnosis and effective treatment for your sleep disorder.

 

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Sleep and your immune system

In addition to depression, obesity, diabetes and other chronic health conditions, there is growing evidence that lack of sleep can weaken your immune response. In other words, neglecting your sleep could make you more vulnerable to getting the cold, flu or some other acute viral infection, or less able to fight it.

Poor sleep may also disrupt these other vital processes in the short term:

  • Metabolism, by interfering with how your body uses insulin to regulate and extract energy from blood sugar (glucose).
  • Appetite, by interfering with the hormones that make you feel hungry
  • Cognition, by interfering with your ability to think

Health effects can worsen with time

If ignored long enough, sleep problems can aggravate existing chronic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and depression, or even lead to them.

How much sleep do you need?

While adults generally require around 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night, and adolescents should average about 9 to 10 hours, it’s important to listen to your body. If you're moody, sluggish or have trouble focusing during the day, that could indicate you need more sleep, or are sleeping poorly.

Learn how to sleep better.

Sleep solutions for snoring

Questions about sleep?