NEW DELHI: Losing just an hour of sleep at night may be harmful to health and lead to problems with memory and focus, according to an expert.

The human body requires an optimum sleep duration of 7-8 hours per night.

But when people do not get adequate sleep, “it results in various problems, such as poor attention, focus, concentration and memory,” said Dr Sudhir Kumar from Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, in a post on X.

“Losing just one hour of sleep could take up to four days of time to recover,” he added.

He noted that poor sleep also increases the risk of headaches, anxiety and stress.

People deprived of sleep are more likely to make “poor decisions, and have driving errors, leading to more vehicle crashes”.

In addition, “sleep deprivation is associated with higher risk of diabetes, hypertension, obesity, heart attack, stroke, depression, dementia, erectile dysfunction and infections,” the neurologist said.

While ensuring “a regular sleep schedule and sleeping for 7-8 hours every night,” is essential for good health, the doctor stated that "oversleeping (more than 9 hours) is also unhealthy”.

In an earlier post, the expert noted that sleep duration and a consistent sleep schedule can help “lower the risk of insulin resistance, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes”. Good sleep is also essential for boosting good cholesterol levels.

Good sleep can also be key to keeping mental health disorders like schizophrenia, depression and stress at bay.