Lack of sleep can make you more than just grumpy. Here are some serious
effects that sleeping less than 7 to 8 hours a day can have on you.
Sleep Deprivation Can Cause:
- Accidents: Sleepiness and drowsiness can slow
reaction time as much as driving drunk. Studies show that sleep loss and
poor-quality sleep also lead to accidents and injuries on the job.
-Difficulties in Learning and Memory: Lack of sleep hurts thinking and
learning processes. First, it impairs attention, alertness, concentration,
reasoning, and problem solving. Second, during the night, various sleep cycles
play a role in “consolidating” memories in the mind. If you don’t get enough
sleep, you won’t be able to remember what you learned and experienced during
the day.
-Serious Health Problems:
Sleep disorders
and chronic sleep loss can put you at risk for:
Heart disease
Heart attack
High blood
pressure
Stroke
Diabetes
-Decreased Sex Drive: Sleep specialists say that
sleep-deprived men and women report lower libidos and less interest in sex.
Depleted energy, sleepiness, and increased tension may be largely to blame.
- Depression: Over time, lack of sleep and sleep
disorders can contribute to the symptoms of depression. The most common sleep
disorder, insomnia, has the strongest link to depression. Insomnia and
depression feed on each other. On the positive side, treating sleep problems
can help depression and its symptoms, and vice versa.
- Aging of Tissues: Chronic sleep loss can lead to
fine lines and dark circles under the eyes. When you don’t
get enough sleep, your body releases more of the stress hormone cortisol which can break down skin collagen, the protein that keeps
skin smooth and elastic. Sleep loss also causes the body to
release too little human growth hormone. When we’re young, human growth hormone
promotes growth. As we age, it plays a role in tissue repair.
- Weight Gain: Lack of sleep increases hunger and
appetite. It stimulates cravings for high-fat, high-carbohydrate foods, leading
to obesity. Sleep stimulates peptides that regulate and suppresses appetite.
