Eight hours of sleep every night was once considered the norm.

However, society has become so fast-paced that many working adults are surviving on less sleep than before. Many feel that there is too much to do within a day, and hence make do with as little as four to five hours of sleep a day. Such voluntary sleep deprivation can have significant adverse effects on one's day-to-day performance and result in numerous health problems in the long run.

So before you dismiss those eight hours in bed as a waste of precious time, read on to learn why sleep is so crucial to one's health and wellbeing.