Lack of Sleep Effects

Whether you sleep more or less, it isn't good for health. Let’s talk about sleep deprivation, which can have many dangerous side effects. The lack of sleep effects can make you feeling grumpy and foggy. Besides, it can affect your memory, weight, and looks. It won’t be wrong to say that prolonged sleep deprivation can affect the overall health of a person.

Accident Risk

Research shows that sleep loss or poor quality sleep raises the risk of accidents and injuries, as a sleep deprived person often remains fatigued due to sleeplessness. Besides, it impacts your reaction times, which puts you at a higher risk of accidents. One study reveals that sleep loss is as dangerous as drunk driving. Sleep deprivation has been linked to a rise in repeated work accidents and higher number of sick days.

Death Risk

People who do not sleep enough and follow irregular sleep patterns have a higher mortality rate compared to those who have a regular sleep schedule. Sleep deprived people are at a higher risk of several chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, heart attack or failure, high blood pressure, or irregular heartbeat.

Cognitive Functioning

A good night’s sleep is imperative for the smooth functioning of your cognitive processes. Sleep loss affects cognitive functioning, thinking process, reasoning, and alertness. It also impacts the learning process and attention span, affecting your ability to solve problems. Even if you manage to learn throughout the day, you won’t be able to remember the same if you are sleep deprived. Proper sleep is important to allow your body to store the information and facts for a long time in the brain.

Reduced Sex Drive

Sleep experts say that lack of sleep in men and women is linked to lower libidos and reduced sex drive. Loss of energy and greater tension in the body are other lack of sleep effects that inhibit your desire for sexual intercourse. Research reveals that men with sleep apnea problem have lower testosterone levels, which further raise the risk of erectile dysfunction and other impotence related problems.

Obesity & Lack of Sleep

Lack of sleep is also linked to increase in hunger and appetite, weight gain, and obesity. A 2004 study finds that those who sleep for less than six hours daily are at a higher risk of 30 percent of obesity than those who sleep for longer hours.The study establishes an association between sleep and peptides that control appetite. Shortened sleep time causes reduction in leptin that controls satiety and increase in ghrelin that regulates hunger. Sleep loss stimulates cravings for fatty, high carb foods, which raise the risk of weight gain and obesity.

How Much Should You Sleep?

Typically, you should sleep for at least six to eight hours every day in order for your body to function properly. However, some people may need more sleep than others, depending on their condition. If you wake up tired as one of the lack of sleep effects, it may ruin your whole day. If sleep deprivation becomes a habit, it will adversely impact your overall health.