Sleep deprivation happens when you don’t get enough rest for your body
to work appropriately.
Sadly, certainties on
the predominance of lack of sleep demonstrate that a large number of us are in
danger of not getting enough rest. Specialists from the NHS say that about 1
out of 3 grown-ups experience the ill effects of the results of lack of sleep.
According to the
journal PLoS One, we need somewhere in the range of 7 and 8 hours of good quality
rest each night. Consistently dozing under 6 hours a night can put us in danger
from the threats of lack of sleep.
Negative effects of sleeplessness
As indicated by the
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, getting enough rest is fundamental for
good wellbeing. Rest is a fundamental need of the body, and the impacts of lack
of sleep can be as genuine as not eating or relaxing. Not resting enough
influences your physical and psychological well-being and can prompt loss of
profitability and genuine damage.
Let’s look in more
detail at the impacts of lack of sleep.
Affects brain function
The brain is the
organ that controls all functions of the body. It controls your thoughts,
memory, speech, arms and legs movement, and the function of the many organs
within your body. It processes sensory information, regulates blood pressure, and releases hormones.
Nevertheless, sleep
deprivation can hinder your brain’s normal function. It can leave your brain
exhausted thereby slowing down your physical and mental responses. It can
affect your thinking, concentration, and creativity and can lead to poor
decisions and confusion.
Lack of sleep also disrupts
hormone production. It can lead to increased levels of stress hormone which can
make you moody, emotional, quick-tempered, and eventually harm your social
relationships.
The worst thing that could
happen with continuous sleeplessness is brain damage. A study in the Journal of
Neuroscience shows that the brain cells in mice forced to stay awake were
destroyed and that the same thing could happen to humans.
Weight gain
One of the reasons a person who
lacks sleep becomes overweight is because of hormonal imbalance. Lack of sleep
triggers the hormone ghrelin which causes the person to feel hunger thus
resulting in overeating and obesity.
It is important to note that
obesity is linked to heart disease, high blood pressure, and cancer. Therefore,
it is essential to look closely at your weight.
High blood pressure
High blood pressure, also known
as hypertension, can be caused by several factors like obesity, smoking, and
alcoholism. But according to recent studies, insufficient sleep can also cause
high blood pressure. This happens when the pressure exerted by the blood on the
wall of arteries rises above normal.
If you have had high blood pressure
over the years, it may do some harm to your veins and put a strain on your
heart.
Diabetes
Diabetes occurs when your body
is unable to properly produce insulin, a blood sugar-lowering hormone.
Lack of sleep affects your
body’s release of insulin. When there is not enough insulin in your body, it
fails to use glucose for energy, thereby increasing the blood sugar and putting
you at risk of developing diabetes 2, and eventually harming your eyes, kidneys,
and heart.
Accidents
According to the American
Academy of Sleep Medicine, one in every five serious motor vehicle injuries is
related to driver fatigue.
Poor sleep quality affects your
physical and mental state. It will then lead to poor balance and coordination
making you more prone to accidents especially when you drive.
Cancer
There is some evidence of
the connection between long-term sleep deprivation and the risk of cancer.
Specifically, individuals with circadian rhythm disorders — in which the body’s
natural clock is disrupted because of rotating shifts, for instance — might be
at increased risk.
The International Journal of
Cancer found that the disruption of the body’s internal clock affects so many
biological functions, including hormone function. The suppression of the
melatonin hormone due to exposure to bright light at night would increase the
production of the estrogen hormone thereby stimulating the development of
hormone-sensitive tumors in the breast.
Maintain good quality of sleep
Rolling out positive
improvements to your quality of sleep will help maintain a strategic distance
from considerable dangers related to sleep deprivation. Getting 7-9 hours of
good night rest supports your brain capacity, improves your well-being, and
prevents life-threatening conditions.
NOTE: This post was first published by me in Pinas Balita.
Do you know other negative effects of sleep deprivation? Tell us in the comments section below.
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