Today we are looking at The effects of sleep deprivation
Here are The effects of sleep deprivation
We continue with our sleep blogs and look at The effects of sleep deprivation.
We may think losing sleep isn’t a big problem but sleep deprivation has a wide range of negative effects that go way beyond daytime drowsiness. Lack of sleep can affect your judgment, coordination, and reaction times. In fact, sleep deprivation can affect you just as much as being drunk.
The effects include:
- Fatigue, lethargy, and lack of motivation
- Moodiness and irritability
- Reduced creativity and problem-solving skills
- Inability to cope with stress
- Reduced immunity; frequent colds and infections
- Concentration and memory problems
- Weight gain
- Impaired motor skills and increased risk of accidents
- Difficulty making decisions
- Increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, and other health problems
Sleep deprivation can add to your waistline
Have you ever noticed that when you are over tired you crave sugary foods for energy. Sleep deprivation has a direct link to overeating and weight gain.
There are two hormones in your body that regulate normal feelings of hunger and fullness. Ghrelin stimulates appetite, while leptin sends signals to the brain when you are full but when we don’t get enough sleep, your ghrelin levels go up, stimulating your appetite so you want more food than normal and your leptin levels go down, meaning you don’t feel satisfied and want to keep eating. The more sleep you lose, the more food your body will crave.
Sleep can lead to loss of brain cells
Missing sleep may lead to brain damage, according to new research , many assume that naps and sleeping in on weekends can help you catch up on your sleep but that strategy won’t fix the damage you may have already done to your brain. Missing out on sleep for consecutive nights may do more than make you pour a larger coffee it may lead to irreversible damage of brain cells.
Researchers have now linked extended wakefulness with injury to, and loss of, neurons that are essential for alertness and optimal cognition. Extended wakefulness occurs when the body is awake for periods outside of usual sleep periods, this can be working a night shift for three days, then spending the remainder of the week on a usual cycle or revising for an exam in the nights leading up to the test, then resuming your regular schedule.
What is important with chronic sleep disorders is that there have been studies that if you’re actually sleep deprived over time you lose the sense of how impaired you are as you feel like it’s just your normal self. Sleep loss is a major health problem, as well as a quality of life problem.
Long term sleep deprivation saps the brain of power even after days of recovery sleep and that could be a sign of lasting brain injury.
Research continues on this and they are hoping their research will result in medicines that will help people working odd hours cope with the consequences of irregular sleep.
After reading our blog on The effects of sleep deprivation you probably want to take yourself to bed.
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