VITAMIN D is really important for our bodies because it helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body. This is necessary for keeping bones and teeth healthy. A lack of vitamin D can impact several areas, including your back, muscles and your immune system as well as your sleep.
The National Library of Medicine writes that “by comparing the lowest verse highest levels of serum vitamin D, we found that participants with vitamin D deficiency (VDD) had a significantly increased risk of sleep disorders.”
The Sleep Doctor writes that “research indicates that Vitamin D may influence both sleep quality and sleep quantity. Researchers analyzed the sleep patterns and Vitamin D levels among a group of older adult men and found that Vitamin D deficiency was associated with less sleep overall and also with more disrupted sleep. The study included 3,048 men ages 68 and older.”
What they found was that low degrees of Vitamin D were connected to a few issues with sleep. Low Vitamin D increased the probability that you could experience poor sleep (sleeping less than 5 hours a night). The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults should get 7–8 h sleep every day, albeit sleep demands may vary in age and gender.
A lack of vitamin D is termed a vitamin D deficiency and can lead to bone deformities such as rickets in children, and several conditions in adults. If you are spending a lot of time indoors, the NHS suggests you should take 10 micrograms of vitamin D a day to keep your bones and muscles healthy. Dietary vitamin D is available in foods such as oily fish, cod liver oil, red meat, fortified cereals, fortified spreads and egg yolks.
You can get vitamin D in three ways: through your skin, from your diet, and from supplements. Your body forms vitamin D naturally after exposure to sunlight. But too much sun exposure can lead to skin ageing and skin cancer, so many people try to get their vitamin D from other sources. Other benefits of vitamin D include healthy lung function and cardiovascular health. Some studies suggest that vitamin D may reduce the expression of certain genes responsible for cancer development.
Vitamin D deficiency can lead to a loss of bone density, which can contribute to osteoporosis and fractures (broken bones).
Severe vitamin D deficiency can also lead to other diseases. In children, it can cause rickets. Rickets is a rare disease that causes the bones to become soft and bend. African American infants and children are at higher risk of getting rickets. In adults, severe vitamin D deficiency leads to osteomalacia. Osteomalacia causes weak bones, bone pain, and muscle weakness.
Source: The National Library of Medicine, Back Pain Blog, The Sleep Doctor The National Sleep Foundation
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