The Golden Chain

Without great sleep, you’re more likely to catch a cold:

“Poorer sleep efficiency and shorter sleep duration as assessed by self-report over a 2-week period in the 23 days before exposure to an RV were associated with increased probability of developing a cold. Both associations were graded. They were also robust in the face of 16 control variables: prechallenge viral-specific antibody titers, age, body mass index, race, income, education, sex, season of exposure, psychological factors (perceived stress, perceived social status, positive emotional style, extraversion, and agreeableness), and health practices (smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity). Associations of sleep duration and sleep efficiency overlapped, with efficiency being the primary and independent predictor. Interestingly, while measures estimating when a participant was sleeping (duration and efficiency) were predictive, the more evaluative sleep measure—feeling rested—was not.” (1)

Without great sleep, you’re more likely to develop type-2 diabetes:

“By using uniformly applied objective measures to assess glycemic status, the present study provides epidemiologic evidence that short sleep time is associated with DM and IGT in community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults under conditions of sleep deprivation that are highly prevalent in the United States and other industrialized societies. This finding persisted after adjustment for known DM risk factors, and was independent of the presence of insomnia symptoms, suggesting that voluntary sleep restriction may be a cause of impaired glucose regulation. The association of short sleep times with DM and IGT may explain in part the association between short sleep time and myocardial infarction and mortality, and lends empirical support to the common recommendation to obtain 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night. Moreover, it suggests that obtaining an adequate total sleep time should be tested as a nonpharmacologic treatment modality in the management of patients with DM and IGT.” (2)

Without great sleep, you’re more likely to develop cardiovascular disease:

“In conclusion, our meta-analysis indicated that short sleep duration was associated with an increased risk of prevalent hypertension in the overall population, especially among subjects younger than 65 years and females, and short sleep duration was associated with an increased risk of incident hypertension only among subjects younger than 65 years. In addition, a long sleep duration might be associated with the risk of prevalent hypertension among subjects younger than 65 years. Large-scale prospective studies are needed to further investigate the causal association between sleep duration and hypertension.” (3)

Without great sleep, you’re more likely to have trouble with your weight:

“Our findings provide a potential mechanistic link between animal laboratory work and human epidemiological findings in terms of how prolonged sleep restriction and prolonged circadian disruption impair glucose regulation and reduce metabolism. The robust changes we observed with exposure to chronic and concurrent circadian disruption and sleep restriction have potential relevance to the millions of people who experience these challenges on a daily basis and who are more likely to develop the metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Findings of particular clinical relevance for exposure to chronic sleep restriction with circadian disruption include a 32% decrease in insulin secretion in response to a standardized meal, a very large effect that led to inadequate glucose regulation: glucose levels were higher for a longer time and rose to pre-diabetic levels in some participants. Finally, the 8% drop in RMR with sleep restriction and circadian disruption, assuming no changes in activity or food intake, would translate into ~12.5 pounds increase in weight over a single year (120 kcal/day × 365 days / 3500 kcal of fat mass), which has clear clinical relevance as chronic sleep restriction with circadian disruption is endemic in our society.” (4)

Without great sleep, you’re more likely to die sooner:

“This meta-analysis demonstrates that inadequate sleep, specifically sleeping less than 7 h per night, is associated with a 14% increased risk of all-cause mortality. These findings underscore inadequate sleep as an important risk factor for mortality, particularly among adults in modern societies where sleep deprivation is increasingly prevalent.” (5)

Sleep isn’t a waste of time.

“Sleep is that golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.”
—Thomas Dekker

(1) Sleep Habits and Susceptibility to the Common Cold. Archives of Internal Medicine, 2009, 10.1001/archinternmed.2008.505.
(2) Association of Sleep Time with Diabetes Mellitus and Impaired Glucose Tolerance. Archives of Internal Medicine, 2005, 10.1001/archinte.165.8.863.
(3) Short Sleep Duration Is Associated with Hypertension Risk Among Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Hypertension Research, 2012, 10.1038/hr.2012.91.
(4) Adverse Metabolic Consequences in Humans of Prolonged Sleep Restriction Combined with Circadian Disruption. Science Translational Medicine, 2012, 10.1126/scitranslmed.3003200.
(5) Imbalanced Sleep Increases Mortality Risk by 14-34%: A Meta-Analysis. GeroScience, 2025, 0.1007/s11357-025-01592-y.

About Jason Gootman
Jason Gootman is a Mayo Clinic Certified Wellness Coach and National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach as well as a certified nutritionist and certified exercise physiologist. Jason helps people reverse and prevent type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other ailments with evidence-based approaches to nutrition, exercise, stress reduction, holistic wellness, and, most importantly, lasting behavior improvement and positive habit formation. As part of this work, Jason often helps people lose weight and keep it off, in part by helping them overcome the common challenges of yo-yo dieting and emotional eating. Jason helps people go from knowing what to do and having good intentions to consistently taking great care of themselves in ways that help them add years to their lives and life to their years.