Health effects of sleep deprivation

You know that feeling when you don’t sleep well, and you wake up feeling cranky, over-emotional, and too tired? This is only a hint of what that sleep deprivation is doing to your body. If you don’t sleep well, you could suffer health issues, both mentally and physically.

Sleep deprivation is the condition of not having enough sleep; which could either be chronic or acute. A chronic sleep-restricted state can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness and weight loss or weight gain. It adversely affects the brain and cognitive function.

Sleep as a matter of fact is in every bit as important for optimal health as healthy food, pure water and exercise, and I am not alone in that sentiment.

While the exact mechanisms of sleep are still quite a mystery, increasing research is showing that your body’s sleep-wake cycle, or circadian rhythm, plays a central role in multiple body processes.

They impact everything from mood and energy levels to disease progression and weight gain. Far from simply helping you to feel alert, proper sleep forms the foundation for your body to function optimally.

What Happens When You’re Sleep Deprived? 

What makes sleep deprivation so detrimental is that it doesn’t just impact one aspect of your health… it impacts many. Among them are three major risks to your mental and physical well-being:


1. Reaction Time Slows
 When you’re sleep-deprived, you’re not going to react as quickly as you normally would, making driving or other potentially dangerous activities, like using power tools, risky. One study even found that sleepiness behind the wheel was nearly as dangerous as drinking and driving.


2.  Your Cognition Suffers:
Your ability to think clearly is also dampened by lack of sleep. If you’re sleep-deprived, you will have trouble retaining memories, processing information, and making decisions. This is why it’s so important to get a good night’s sleep prior to important events at work or home.


3.  Emotions Are Heightened:
As your reaction time and cognition slows, your emotions will be kicked into high gear. This means that arguments with co-workers or your spouse are likely and you’re probably going to be at fault for blowing things out of proportion.

Meanwhile, previous research has found that sleep deprivation has the same effect on your immune system as physical stress or illness. This may help explain why lack of sleep is tied to an increased risk of numerous chronic diseases.