One of three people suffer from some form of sleep deprivation. The reason for this unusual stress, staring at the various monitors throughout the day, and working too hard. At best, those who don’t get enough sleep feel grumpy and out of it. But, the negative effects go far beyond that especially if insomnia lasts for some time.
Here is a few ways sleep deprivation can cause severe damage to your body. Have them in mind and consider visiting a doctor if the problems persist.
Making you Dumb
Regular sleeping patterns have a crucial role in higher cognitive processes. Sleep deprivation affects thinking and learning in profoundly negative ways. Attention, concentration, reasoning, and problem-solving are all suffering if you haven’t slept right for more than two days. It is important for students – to get a good night sleep and start fresh tomorrow, then to pull an all-nighter when studying for the big test.
Also, sleep is essential in creating memory, and these changes occur in your brain that takes place while you are sleeping. It’s the way your brain processes all the information you pick up during the day. Retaining new information gets harder as you sleep less.
Immune System
During sleep, the body creates infection-fighting antibodies and cytokines. Those substances have a role in fighting bacteria and other causes of diseases. Interestingly enough, having enough of these cells (meaning having a good immune system) is also helping you sleep better. That means that once you break the cycle, it will get harder for you to get better.
Those who don’t get enough sleep get sick more often and take longer to get better once they already are. If you don’t sleep for a longer period, you’re also more likely to get chronic diseases such as diabetes.
Gaining Weight
Once again it’s a two-way process with a single result. If you don’t sleep enough – your appetite will go up. Weight gain happens due to low levels of leptin, and your body needs more energy to keep going. You will feel weird cravings, especially for sweets. There is also a psychological aspect to all this, and you can find yourself eating at night when you should be sleeping because there is nothing better to do.
At the same time, when you’re sleep deprived, the metabolism gets slower to keep the body going on less energy. This means it’s harder to lose weight. It turns out that the best thing you can do for your waistline is to get top rated mattresses, which will provide you with the quality sleep you deserve.
Depression
Any sleep disorder can cause depression, but insomnia and depression are linked together in distinct ways. Most people suffering from depression sleep for less than 6 hours. And looking at it another way round, people with insomnia are five times more likely to be depressed. These two diseases feed off each other. If you’re sleeping less (or less regularly) you’re more liable to get depressed, and if you’re depressed, there is a good chance you’re losing sleep.
Skin Problems
It’s common to be pale and to have puffy eyes if you didn’t sleep well for a couple of nights. But when you lose sleep for a long time, things get much worse than that. Those with sleep deprivation have higher levels of cortisol. In large amounts, this hormone can make skin less smooth and less elastic. Human growth hormone also rises when you don’t sleep enough. This makes your skin thicker and drier.
Sleep issues can be solved by building the right night time routine and taking care of yourself in other areas of life. But if the problems persist even after you’ve done all this – visit a doctor and get help. If you suffer from chronic pain, it is important to make sure that you get plenty of sleep at night. Sleep plays a significant role in how your body feels pain too.
