Research & Publications

What Happens When You Don't Get Enough Sleep?

Date Posted: Wednesday, August 17th, 2016 by Alan Berger

Not getting enough sleep? Learn how sleep deprivation can serious impact your health and the lives of others. Once you do, you will hit the sack early tonight!

Your Immune System Suffers
Lack of sleep jeopardizes the body's ability to fight illness which, of course, leaves you more susceptible to getting sick. Especially with a new school year beginning, lack of sleep can lead to colds, flu, and even mono.

You Increase Your Risk of Heart Disease
It's not a good idea to cut your sleep short nor is it a good idea to sleep for long hours. Both can negatively affect your heart and increase the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke.

You Also Increase Your Risk of Cancer
Sleeping seven or more hours nightly tend to yield the best mortality rates among both men and women. Sleeping less than that can increase the risk of breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer.

School and Work Performance Suffer
All-nighters are a thing of the past. There is no hero status attached to it any longer especially when it can worsen your performance in school or at work. When you don't get enough sleep, attentiveness suffers, memory lapses occur, decision-making and reasoning skills decrease. So do reaction times and problem solving.

The Desire for Intimacy Declines
The lack of desire to have sex is not just due to the fact that you're tired but, clinically, it's also due to the fact that testosterone levels decrease thus affecting your mood and ability to have sex.

You Eat More
The longer you stay awake, the more you will probably eat especially when you're continually working on a project for class or work at late hours of the night. Eating more at unconventional hours will lead to weight gain and possibly obesity.

You Don't Look As Good
You know how people look when they haven't gotten enough sleep. They look ragged and weary. A continued lack of sleep releases more cortisol, a stress hormone, which messes with collagen, a body protein responsible for skin elasticity and smoothness. This is why you see more fine lines, more wrinkles, and more skin looseness in the faces of people who don't sleep enough.

If You're Exhausted, Don't Drive
Friends don't let friends drive drunk so why let them drive when their reaction-time and alertness are impaired?

You Will Be More Prone To Diabetes
When you don’t get enough continued sleep, the body's metabolism slows down considerably. When that happens, the body stores food instead of processing it thus leading to insulin resistance - meaning that your body has a tougher time storing glucose which, long-term, can lead to diabetes.

References

• http://www.healthline.com/health/healthy-sleep/what-happens-to-your-body-when-you-lose-sleep#5
• http://www.self.com/wellness/2016/03/this-is-what-actually-happens-to-your-body-when-you-dont-get-enough-sleep/
• http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/10-results-sleep-loss#2