DHAKA: Most people know when they don't get enough sleep, they're grumpier, have trouble concentrating and may even eat more.

But too little shut-eye does more than affect your mood. It can wreak havoc on your health, research shows, reports US Today.

Sleep deprivation is associated with an increased risk of many serious health problems, including obesity, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, depression, heart attacks and strokes, as well as premature death and reduced quality of life and productivity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Add to those an increased risk of automobile crashes, industrial disasters and medical and other occupational errors.

A recent mouse study found that chronic sleep loss can lead to the irreversible damage and loss of brain cells.

CDC data show that 28% of US adults report sleeping six hours or less each night, and that's just not enough for most people, experts say.

It's no wonder that the CDC calls insufficient sleep ‘a public health epidemic’.

Sleep is so critical to good health that it should be thought of ‘as one of the components of a three-legged stool of wellness: nutrition, exercise and sleep’, says Safwan Badr, a past president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and a sleep expert with Detroit Medical Center and Wayne State University.

Although people's sleep needs vary, the sleep medicine group recommends that adults get about seven to nine hours a night for optimal health, productivity and daytime alertness.

Sleep-deprived people may have schedules that don't fit well with the body's natural sleep cycle, such as shift workers or high school students who have to get up early but whose bodies are wired to get up late, Badr says.

Or people getting insufficient shut-eye simply may not value sleep. This is a culture where not sleeping very much or pulling an all-nighter is considered a ‘badge of honor’, he says.

Badr says there are some steps you can take to get a better night's sleep, go to bed at about the same time every night, get up at the same time in the morning, don't drink caffeine at all or in the afternoon, limit alcohol consumption, and exercise regularly.

Daily sleep needs vary by ages and individuals but here are some general guidelines:

Newborns (up to 2 months), 12-18 hours

Infants (3-11 months), 14-15 hours

Toddlers (1-3 years), 12-14 hours

Preschoolers (3-5 years), 11-13 hours

School-age children (5-10 years), 10-11 hours

Teens (11-17 years) 8.5-9.5 hours

Adults (18 and older), 7-9 hours

BDST: 1952 HRS, JUNE 22, 2014