One bad night of sleep can make for a lousy day but imagine the impact of weeks and months without sleep on our body. Poor sleep habits can wear our bodies down over time if we are not careful.
Millions of Americans face sleepless nights each year. At a minimum, aim for seven to nine hours of sleep each night, but how many of us achieve this goal? However, a decision to ignore this recommendation could lead to an adverse effect on your body.
Here are ten ways poor sleep affects your body:
1 – Anxiety
Despite the side effect of feeling drowsy and perhaps moving in perpetual slow motion, poor sleep can leave you feeling anxious. Researchers have discovered that people with insomnia are 17 times as likely to have anxiety than those who can achieve the recommended hours of sleep (National Sleep Foundation).
2 – Depression
Not only are you at risk for feelings of anxiety but depression as well. Individuals who have poor sleep health are 10 times as likely to experience clinical depression. Sadly, the more often you experience insomnia, the higher your risk of developing depression according to the National Sleep Foundation.
3 – Inability to Think Clearly
Poor sleep can wreak havoc on your brain’s capacity to put two and two together. This side effect can translate to reduced reaction time and hand-eye coordination. According to Mayo Clinic, simulation tests demonstrate that sleep-deprived people perform hand-eye coordination tasks as badly as or worse than intoxicated people.
However, it doesn’t stop there. People with poor sleep quality have an increased inability to concentrate, and zero capacity to form or retain memories.
4 – Heart Disease
Poor sleep quality not only impacts our minds but also, can affect the body. One organ influenced explicitly by how well we do, or do not sleep our heart. The American Heart Association cites an irregular sleep pattern as being the trigger for multiple cardiovascular problems.
If you achieve less than six hours of sleep per night, you are at an increased risk for cardiac problems down the road. For one thing, those suffering from sleep deprivation have higher levels of stress hormones and inflammatory substances in their blood which contributes to heart disease.
5 – Obesity
Aside from poor eating habits, the failure to secure a good night’s sleep can weigh you down figuratively speaking. Study after study continues to reinforce the need for rest if you are ever going to win the battle with the scale. Those who sleep for shorter periods of time are more likely to snack more often and eat more food.
According to the Harvard Medical School, you are also more likely to shy away from healthy vegetables and protein and lean more towards fatty foods and sugar. Couple this with certain feelings of fatigue and the desire to exercise flies out of the window for this group of people.
6 – High Blood Pressure
Your failure to snooze appropriately can also raise your blood pressure, adding to other existing cardiac woes. If you are experiencing blood pressure problems and sleep issues, you may want to seek the attention of a sleep specialist to rule out sleep apnea. Sleep apnea can also contribute to high blood pressure, increasing your risk of heart attacks and strokes.
7 – Type 2 Diabetes
Our bodies react to sleep loss in a myriad of ways, but nothing is perhaps more amazing than the poor impact sleep can have on insulin production. Not sleeping well can increase your risk of developing diabetes (WebMD). The reason for the enhanced risk has everything to do with what it is we are putting into our bodies.
When we are tired or too fatigued to prepare healthy meals, it is in our very nature to gravitate towards those foods that can cause our sugar levels to rise rapidly. It’s not all about what we eat, but our bodies response.
When we don’t sleep, our body isn’t always clear about what it should be doing with the insulin. This confusion contributes to the mediocre production of insulin or insulin resistance.
8 – Affects Your Sex Drive
Men and women may experience lower libidos or a lack of interest in sex according to sleep specialists. This side effect is mainly due in part to inadequate energy levels, feeling tired, and higher levels of tension.
9 – Skin Problems
If you are looking to improve the glow of your skin and rid yourself of those bags and dark circles beneath your eyes, you better boost your hours of sleep. Poor sleep can increase fine lines, and dull skin thanks to the loss of collagen and protein which gives skin its natural smooth appearance and elasticity.
10 – Poor Immunity
Poor sleep habits can devastate your immune system, leaving you susceptible to viruses and receptive to germs that trigger other illnesses.
Your body requires sleep for time to recover and heal itself. If you are suffering from sleep deprivation, take the time to consult your primary physician or even a sleep specialist. He or she should conduct a full review of your physical and mental wellness.
