When lack of sleep becomes a problem
Not getting enough shut-eye? It could be impacting your body and mind…
‘I’Il sleep when I’m dead,’ came the chortle from a colleague this week – seemingly quite proud of the fact that they’d worked and played far too hard to get their recommended nightly seven to nine hours of kip. You don’t need to be a doctor to know that a persistent lack of sleep can leave you feeling rubbish, but lack of sleep and poor sleep quality can also have a profound effect on long-term health.
Sleep provides downtime for your brain to not only rest but also to process and store new information. Not getting enough can hinder your short- and long-term memory, and your ability to concentrate and learn. It affects mood and can lead to anxiety, depression and poor decision-making. If sleep deprivation becomes too entrenched some people may start to hallucinate, and in those with underlying mental health disorders, it may trigger mania or psychosis.
SICKNESS CAN STRIKE
But that’s not all – your immune system also ‘does its thing’ while you sleep and there appears to be a direct correlation between good quality and quantity of sleep and the ability to fight off infection.
While some people seem to manage on much less than the recommended quota, there have also been studies demonstrating a link between long-term lack of sleep and chronic health conditions such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease, which make for concerning reading.
PUTTING ON WEIGHT?
Not too worried about your immune system or a disease that may never happen? Well you may struggle with the next result of sleep deprivation – weight gain. Poor sleep can result in lower levels of the hormone leptin. Leptin tells your brain when you’ve had enough to eat. Meanwhile, less sleep can increase the hormone ghrelin, which stimulates your appetite.
