Sleep gives the body time to regenerate and gain new physical and mental energy. Good sleep is supposed to be at least 7 hours for adults and 10 hours for kids. Lack of sleep can be due to working at night or insomnia caused by stress, anxiety, depression, medication, or sleep disorders. When you are deprived of sleep, fatigue is just the tip of the iceberg. There are more problems associated with lack of sleep. These problems can be fatal and life-changing. This article will explore problems caused by sleep deprivation.
Problems Caused By Sleep Deprivation
Accidents And Injury
Sleep deprivation is the number one cause of accidents. Fatigue and drowsiness impair attention, alertness, and concentration and slow the reaction time needed to operate machines. Most road accidents are caused by fatigue because drivers cannot adequately perceive, react, and respond to a situation. Fatigue in driving is characterized by yawning, tired eyes, restlessness, and inability to remember direction. Having a good sleep helps the body regenerate energy, which helps you stay alert, concentrate, and pay attention while operating machines. It will, in turn, minimize accidents and injuries to yourself and others.
Can Lead to Serious Health Problems
The common serious health problems are heart-related diseases. Sleep deprivation is associated with heart problems like high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attack, irregular heartbeat, and heart failure. When you are sleeping, your heart rate slows down, blood pressure drops, and breathing is stabilized to allow your heart to regain from strain. When you don’t sleep enough, your heart is continuously strained and stressed. People with sleeping disorders like sleep apnea and insomnia are more likely to develop these heart diseases than those who have better sleep. When nocturnal dipping does not occur, this can lead to hypertension.
Loss of Sex Drive
Sleep-deprived individuals are more likely to suffer from low sex drive than those with enough sleep. Erectile dysfunction in men and low sexual desire in women are the common problems associated with lack of enough sleep. It is due to less energy and tension, which the body is not regaining. Sleep interruptions in men caused by sleep apnea can lead to low testosterone levels in the body. Testosterone hormones are responsible for men’s libido. Low T levels can lead to less or no sexual desire in men.
Skin aging
Sleep-deprived individuals may appear old because the body releases more cortisol, a stress hormone. Cortisol breaks down the skin protein collagen, which keeps the skin smooth and elastic. Lack of collagen can be characterized by fine lines, dark circles under the eyes, and lackluster skin. Poor sleep quality also affects the release of the human growth hormone, responsible for growth, increasing muscles, and thickening the skin. The human growth hormone is part of normal tissue repair. Lack of or little human growth hormone will mean slow skin repair.
Lack of sleep can be depressing.
With time lack of sleep can cause or contribute to symptoms of depression. When you reduce your sleep time, you are more likely to be diagnosed with anxiety or depression. Insomnia is a sleep disorder that can be a characteristic of depression. Asleep disorder or lack of sleep caused by another medical condition can elevate depression. It is important to note that inability to sleep may indicate that you are depressed when your lack of sleep is not caused by insomnia.
Mental problems
Poor sleep quality robes your mind time to relax. It, in turn, affects how well you sleep, which affects your mental health. Lack of sleep can lead to worrying, stress, or tiredness. These affect your ability to deal with life problems. Inability to cope with life problems leads to low self-esteem, resulting in more worrying. Lack of sleep creates a vicious cycle that rotates around lack of sleep, stress, tiredness, difficulty coping with life challenges, low self-esteem, and worrying. Sometimes it is better to rest to allow your mind to reset by having a quality sleep of at least 7 hours.
Memory Loss
Information is stored in the brain in short-term memory and long-term memory. The acquired information is transferred from the hippocampus to the neocortex part of the brain, where long-term memories are stored in an event known as “sharp wave ripples.” The sharp wave ripples take place when you are deeply asleep. Lack of sleep inhibits the occurrence of sharp-wave ripples, making it difficult for you to remember learned information. Various sleep cycles also play a role in consolidating memories in mind. Lack of sleep also hurts cognitive processes like alertness, concentration, reasoning, and problem-solving, making it difficult to learn efficiently.
Sleep Loss may lead to Weight Gain.
Lack of sleep may lead to an increase in hunger, appetite, and obesity. Short sleep time decreases leptin, a hormone that signals that you have enough energy. It increases the ghrelin hormone, which signals hunger. This increase in ghrelin and decrease in leptin compels one to eat even if he has just eaten. There is also a stimulated craving for high-fats and carbohydrates foods. Foods rich in calories can lead to weight gain.
Conclusion
Sleep is a very important part of human health and well-being as it controls almost every aspect of health. Lack of sleep may solve most problems like mental health and memory loss. Quality sleep of 6 to 7 hours a night can do more to your body than prescription pills and supplements because sleep is like hitting a restart button. Your tissues are repaired, your immune system boosted, and learned information is stored in the long-term memory while you are sleeping. Quality sleep should be a priority so that the body can rest and regenerate the energy used.
References
Krause, A. J., Simon, E. B., Mander, B. A., Greer, S. M., Saletin, J. M., Goldstein-Piekarski, A. N., & Walker, M. P. (2017). The sleep-deprived human brain. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 18(7), 404-418.
Nickel, P., & Nachreiner, F. (2003). Sensitivity and diagnosticity of the 0.1-Hz component of heart rate variability indicate mental workload. Human factors, 45(4), 575-590.
MS, University of Latvia
I am deeply convinced that each patient needs a unique, individual approach. Therefore, I use different psychotherapy methods in my work. During my studies, I discovered an in-depth interest in people as a whole and the belief in the inseparability of mind and body, and the importance of emotional health in physical health. In my spare time, I enjoy reading (a big fan of thrillers) and going on hikes.
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