We all know that it is important to have enough sleep, but many may not realize what can go wrong when you do not have. Here are 25 serious consequences that can be caused by a lack of sleep.
Irritability
A team of Israeli scientists noted that the complaints of irritability are common in sleep-deprived people.
Headache
Although the scientists still do not know exactly why lack of sleep causes headaches, it is a connection that doctors noticed more than a century ago. However, too little sleep can cause a migraine.
Learning problems
Short-term memory is a key component of learning; a lack of sleep in subjects in research has greatly reduced the ability to remember the words that were shown the day before.
Weight gain
Sleepy people have unbalanced hormones that are associated with increased appetite. That is the need for high-calorie foods.
Heart disease
The scientists during the research kept the subjects awake for 88 hours found that their blood pressure increased. However, those subjects who slept four hours during the night had higher heart rate compared to those who slept eight hours.
Slow motion
The reaction time is prolonged seriously when you haven’t slept enough.
Infections
Prolonged lack of sleep, and even one sleepless night can disrupt the body’s natural defenses against microorganisms.
Diminished mental capacity to make decisions
If you are in facing big changes, make sure to have a good night’s sleep before you make decisions.
Impaired vision
Lack of sleep is associated with tunnel vision, double vision and the gloom. The longer the person is awake, the more visual errors will experience.
Excessive production of urine
When people sleep, the body slows down the normal production of urine. This is why most people do not need to urinate during the night as during the day. When a person is sleepy, to the usual slowdown in the production of urine comes not leading to what scientists call “excess nocturnal urine production.
Improved resistance to vaccines
Vaccines act to stimulate the body to produce antibodies against a certain virus. But if a person is not sleeping enough, the immune system is compromised and does not work so well.
Problems in speech
Due to lack of sleep you can easily sound like an idiot, just like when you drink too much alcohol.
Colds
If you are wondering why you are constantly sick and pick up almost every virus – the reason is probably the lack of sleep. For people who do not sleep enough, the chance to get sick increases the manifold in comparison to those who are well rested.
Indigestion
One of the 250 Americans suffers from inflammatory bowel disease, and lack of sleep symptoms appears much worse.
Road accidents
The pilots, truck drivers and others who must stay awake for a long time have shown an increased risk of accidents due to lack of sleep. Road accidents related to fatigue, driving half asleep and sleeping behind the wheel are common, but equally often underestimated.
Decreased sex drive
An integral part of the sexual instinct is testosterone, whose level increases sleep. Due to lack of sleep its quantity is reduces, and therefore the sexual desire.
Pains
Scientists suspect that lack of sleep can cause pain or at least increase it in people sensitive to pain. Research has shown that in sleep-deprived people the pain threshold is reduced.
Diabetes
Several studies have shown a strong link between sleep loss and the risk of developing diabetes, even if you control other habits that might be relevant.
Sloppiness
When we are sleepy, we are not the best at what we do. For example, athletes make a lot more mistakes when they are awake for a long time.
Cancer
Preliminary research suggests that people who do not sleep enough are at increased risk for developing certain types of cancers, most notably colon cancer and breast cancer.
Memory problems
In the elderly weaknesses in sleep is connected with poorer long-term memory. Studies have shown that people, who sleep less, forget more.
Concentration
If you want to be cautious and careful you have to be well rested. Lack of sleep leads to problems with paying attention to what you are reading or listening.
Problems in the normal genetic activity
The study showed that after only seven days with less than six hours of sleep per night more than 700 genes are not behaving normally.
Depression and mood swings
One study found that lack of sleep was one of the main two factors that influenced the bad mood in women. The second was associated with short deadlines at work. Also, another study found that the doubled happiness is associated with peaceful sleep.
Death
People who consistently do not sleep for seven to eight hours are likely to die after some period. To put it simply – we will all eventually die, but lack of sleep can lead to a person’s death before this is supposed to happen.
