Most people, particularly college students and call center agents, usually brag that they are sleeping lesser than the required eight hours. Little did they know that although espresso shots and four cans of energy drink might benefit them in doing their work at 4 in the morning with 2 hours of sleep, in the long term run, their body will eventually suffer.
The body requires seven to eight hours of sleep in order to rest properly and make it function on the next day. Lack of sleep might affect your memory, health, looks, and even your sex life and your goal of losing weight!
HERE ARE THE TEN DANGEROUS SIDE EFFECTS OF NOT HAVING A PROPER SLEEP:
1. ACCIDENTS
Did you know that sleep deprivation was a factor in some of the biggest disasters in recent history: the 1979 nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, the massive Exxon Valdez oil spill, the 1986 nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl, and others. Yes! All because of being sleep deprived!
Drowsiness can reduce 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. In one study, workers who complained about excessive daytime sleepiness had significantly more work accidents, particularly repeated work accidents. They also had more sick days per accident.
2. IT MAKES YOU DUMBER
Aiming for a higher grade? You should get a lot of sleep!
Sleep plays a critical role in thinking and learning. Lack of sleep hurts these cognitive processes in many ways. First, it impairs attention, alertness, concentration, reasoning, and problem solving. This makes it more difficult to learn efficiently.
3. HEALTH PROBLEMS
Heart disease, heart attack, heart failure, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes.
These are just some of the diseases a sleep-deprived person can get if they continue damaging their body by not getting enough sleep. According to some estimates, 90% of people with insomnia — a sleep disorder characterized by trouble falling and staying asleep — also have another health condition.
4. KILLS SEX DRIVE
Do you want some sexy time but you always yawn while removing your clothes?
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.
5. DEPRESSION
Over time, lack of sleep and sleep disorders can contribute to the symptoms of depression. In 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.
6. IT MAKES YOU LOOK OLDER
Most people have experienced sallow skin and puffy eyes after a few nights of missed sleep. But it turns out that chronic sleep loss can lead to lackluster skin, fine lines, and dark circles under the eyes.
“It’s during deep sleep — what we call slow-wave sleep — that growth hormone is released,” says sleep expert Phil Gehrman, Ph.D. “It seems to be part of normal tissue repair — patching the wear and tear of the day.”
7. MEMORY LOSS
n 2009, American and French researchers determined that brain events called “sharp wave ripples” are responsible for consolidating memory. The ripples also transfer learned information from the hippocampus to the neocortex of the brain, where long-term memories are stored. Sharp wave ripples occur mostly during the deepest levels of sleep.
8.IT MAKES YOU GAIN WEIGHT
Dreaming of that Kate Upton or Chris Pratt body? Then better have a good eight-hour tucked in sleep on your bed every night!
When it comes to body weight, it may be that if you snooze, you lose. Lack of sleep seems to be related to an increase in hunger and appetite, and possibly to obesity. According to a 2004 study, people who sleep less than six hours a day were almost 30 percent more likely to become obese than those who slept seven to nine hours.
9. IMPAIRS JUDGMENT
Sleep-deprived people seem to be especially prone to poor judgment when it comes to assessing what lack of sleep is doing to them. In our increasingly fast-paced world, functioning on less sleep has become a kind of badge of honor. But sleep specialists say if you think you’re doing fine on less sleep, you’re probably wrong. And if you work in a profession where it’s important to be able to judge your level of functioning, this can be a big problem.
10. DEATH
In the “Whitehall II Study,” British researchers looked athow sleep
patterns affected the mortality of more than 10,000 British civil servants over two decades. The results, published in 2007, showed that those who had cut their sleep from seven to five hours or fewer a night nearly doubled their risk of death from all causes. In particular, lack of sleep doubled the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
Are you convinced now to get some sleep? Time to drink that warm milk and put your sleep mask!