Back pain, thinning hair and baggy eyes… it’s not cute.
An AI model has revealed a harrowing image of what people will look like in 2050 if they don’t get enough sleep.
‘Hannah’ represents the changes that happen to our bodies when we only get six hours of sleep per night.
Created by Bensons for Beds and sleep expert Dr Sophie Bostock, Hannah, a 45-year-old Brit from the future, has chronic back pain, thinning hair, sagging skin, swollen legs and red, baggy eyes.
Hannah also suffers from thinning muscle in the arms and legs and is prone to flu due to her weakened immune system.
Yikes!
Due to our obsessions with smartphones and hectic modern lifestyles, people are losing sleep more than ever.
Generally, experts recommend that adults get between seven to nine hours sleep per night, saying adults who sleep under seven hours are more at risk of health issues.
A survey this year revealed that the average Brit gets just six hours and 20 minutes of sleep a night, meaning an influx of chronic issues like the ones Hannah suffers maybe be on the rise.
The design of Hannah is based on 19 research papers in academic journals published since 2010 all looking into effects of sleep loss.
Dr Sophie Bostock, who launched The Sleep Scientist, called Hannah ‘a thought-provoking illustration of the holistic impact that sleep has on maintaining overall health’.
“Many of us don’t realise that haphazard daily routines and lack of sleep interfere with our circadian rhythms, the 24-hour cycles which control our physiology,” she added.
Fortunately, research into the importance of good quality sleep has increased in the last few decades.
Studies have shown how prolonged sleep deficiency can put you at a higher risk for conditions impact the heart such as obesity, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.
