11 Shocking Negative Effects Due to Lack of Sleep

Have you ever spent a night tossing and turning in your bed, knowing that you will feel grumpy and froggy the next day? Other than not meeting the recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep, you will be surprised by how missing out on these eye-shut hours will do to you. Long-term sleep deprivation is a very serious case as it drains your mental abilities and put your physical health at real risk. Here are 10 shocking negative effects of sleep loss.

1.Memory Problem

Are you trying to keep your memory as sharp as a knife? Try getting plenty of rest! When you are sleeping, your brain form connections that help you in processing and remembering new information. Lacking sleep will negatively impact both short and long-term memory.

2.Thinking and Concentrating Problem

Sleep plays an essential role in thinking and concentrating. Lacking sleep hurts these cognitive process in many ways. Firstly, it hindered your attention, alertness, concentration, reasoning, and problem-solving skills. This resulted in less efficient learning. Secondly, when we are sleeping, various sleep cycle play a role in “consolidating” memories in our mind. Hence, if one is sleep deprived, they will not remember what they have learned and experienced during the day.

3.Mood Swings/ Mood Changes

Lacking sleeping can make you moody, emotional, and quick-tempered. Chronic sleep losses can escalate and affect your mood, leading to anxiety and depression. According to a 2005 Sleep in America poll, people who were diagnosed with depression or anxiety were more likely to sleep less than six hours at night. Insomnia, the most common sleep disorder, has a strong correlation to depression. In a 2007 study of 10,000 people, people who have insomnia were five times more likely to develop depression as compared to those without them. In fact, insomnia is one of the first symptoms of depression.

Insomnia and depression go hand in hand together. Sleep deprivation will escalate the symptoms of depression, and on the other hand, depression will make it more difficult to fall asleep. On a positive note, treating your sleep problems will help with both depression and its symptoms.

4.Accidents

Lack of rest was the main factor in some of the biggest disaster in recent history: the 1986 nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl. Drowsiness can slow reaction time as much as driving drunk. Hence just by being drowsy during the day can increase your risk of car accidents and injuries from other causes.

5.Weakened immunity

Sleeping too little weaken your immune system’s defense to common cold and flu. You are more likely to get sick when exposed to germs and bacteria from your environment.

6.High Blood Pressure

Sleeping is very important when it comes to lowering your blood pressure. If you sleep less than five hours a night, your risk for high blood pressure will increase.

7.Risk for diabetes

Deprivation in sleeping will affect the effectiveness of a hormones known as insulin in lowering the blood sugar in the body. People who don’t get enough rest have higher blood sugar levels and an increased risk of type-2 diabetes.

8.Weight gain

“You snooze, you lose” is a term that we have heard of frequently. Lack of sleeping caused the chemicals that signal to your brain that you are full are off balance. Hence, you are more likely to overindulge even when you’ve had enough to eat. Recent research has also shown that shorten sleep time is associated with the decreases in leptin, peptides that stimulates hunger and the increases in ghrelin, peptides that stimulate hunger. Furthermore, sleep deprivation also stimulates cravings for high-fat, high-carbohydrate foods.

9.Risk of heart disease

Lack of bedtime may lead to increase in blood pressure and a higher level of chemicals linked inflammation, both of which play roles in heart diseases.

10.Low Sex Drive

It has been reported by sleep specialist that men and women who don’t get enough sleep have lower libidos and lesser interest in sex. This is largely due to the depletion of energy, sleepiness, and increased tension. For the guys, this decreased in sex drive may be due to the drop in testosterone levels.

11.Poor Balance

Lack of bedtime affects our coordination and balance, making us more prone to falls and other physical accidents such as fracturing their radius of the waist bone when one tries to break a fall with their hand.

All in all, your body needs rest, just as much as it needs air and food to function at its best. When you are sleeping, your body is healing itself and restoring its chemical balance. Your brain forges new connections and helps to retain your memory. Without enough bedtime, your body and brain won’t function normally, thus lowering your quality of life. Some of the obvious signs of lack of sleeping are excessive sleepiness, yawning, irritability and daytime fatigue. It is also important to note that stimulants like caffeine aren’t enough to override your body’s need for sleep.