#less healthy kidney

Less Sleep, Less Healthy Kidney

Sleep is often underestimated by most people. Some people prefer to reduce hours of sleep, rather than having to skip a good movie, play social media, and other unfinished work. Although it is often taken for granted, it is undeniable that sleep has a very vital function for all organ systems in the body, including the kidneys. Research shows that sleep disorders influence the development of kidney disease. The suspected cause is an inflammatory process and sympathetic nerve activation that damages the glomerular basement membrane and the renal tubular apparatus. Several sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea, circadian rhythm disorders, hypersomnia, and insomnia have been associated with metabolic disorders which ultimately lead to kidney involvement, either because of decreased kidney function in dealing with increased metabolic waste or because the shorter duration of rest causes susceptibility to decreased quality of life of renal cells themselves.