Those who lied about their sleep for work or skipped exercise due to fatigue know its effects. Sleep has profound impacts on our emotions, mental well-being, and physical performance—so it should come as no surprise that researchers devote so much of their waking hours to studying its inner workings. Researchers are discovering that sleep serves multiple functions, and each stage of the sleep cycle serves a distinct purpose.
1. Increased Risk of Disease
Multiple studies have linked sleep loss to an increased risk of disease. Some of this research finds graded associations; the longer someone goes without sleeping, the greater is their risk for experiencing negative health effects.
A few nights of poor sleep here and there may not be an issue, but consistent poor sleeping habits can put your health at risk—including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, and obesity. Lack of restful slumber also reduces immunity, leaving you more susceptible to infections and illness while increasing reckless and risk-taking behavior. Sleep deprivation also contributes to impulsive behaviors.
2. Increased Risk of Injury
Studies suggest that chronic suboptimal sleep increases your risk of injury. This likely occurs as sleep deprivation interferes with essential endocrine and metabolic processes necessary for muscle recovery, including elevated cortisol levels that impair protein growth and inhibit glycogen repletion in muscles.
Additionally, sleep deprivation slows reaction time—something crucial to workplace and sports safety. Furthermore, excessive sleepiness has been linked to accidents both at work and on the road that result in injuries that are costly in terms of both money and health; missed workdays due to insufficient rest may also ensue. To minimize its negative impacts, make sleep deprivation a top priority and try not to procrastinate before bedtime as much. This way you are more likely to achieve adequate rest.
3. Decreased Mental Health
Finding your optimal amount of restorative sleep will enhance both your mental health and mood, helping you think clearly and respond quickly to situations, work efficiently, and build positive relationships with those around you.
Studies indicate a complex link between mental illness and sleep. Sleep disorders may contribute to developing certain psychiatric conditions, while insufficient rest can worsen existing issues further, creating a vicious cycle. Many studies show that sleeping less than recommended amounts is associated with higher rates of psychological distress and lower well-being scores.
4. Increased Risk of Weight Gain
Sleep can play an essential role in helping you maintain a healthy weight. Sleep deprivation has been linked to an increased risk of weight gain because it interferes with how the body produces hormones that regulate hunger and satiety. Lack of quality sleep can reduce activity in the frontal lobe of your brain, which is responsible for controlling self-control and decision-making, leading to reckless and impulsive behaviors.
If you are struggling to achieve the recommended amount and quality of sleep, please speak to your healthcare provider about possible solutions. They may test for conditions like sleep apnea that could impede its duration or quality.
5. Decreased Immune System
Sleep is a complex process that allows our body and brain to recharge during the night, but when we don’t receive enough quality sleep, we may become more susceptible to diseases and medical conditions. Sleep deprivation can cause an imbalance of hormones responsible for making us hungry (ghrelin) and full (leptin), leading to feelings of hunger (ghrelin) and fullness (leptin), which in turn prompts overeating. Sleep deprivation also may make people crave carbohydrates more frequently.
Sleep may seem simple—simply closing your eyes and drifting off into restful slumber—but it is in fact one of the most complex biological processes known to science. A whole field of medicine exists dedicated to understanding sleep disorders and treating any conditions that impede its progress.
6. Increased Risk of Heart Disease
Sleep stages known as non-rapid eye movement (NREM) allow your heart rate to slow, blood pressure to lower, and breathing to become stable, relieving stress from the heart and helping it recuperate after strain during waking hours. Poor, interrupted, or fragmented sleep causes sudden spikes in heart rate upon awakening, adding additional strain on your cardiovascular system and raising the risk for cardiovascular disease.
Lack of sleep increases daytime blood pressure and increases your risk for coronary artery disease—when plaque builds up in the arteries and reduces their ability to deliver oxygenated blood to your heart—as well as stroke, which occurs when blood flow to the brain is abruptly cut off due to an obstruction or narrowing in an artery. Sleep disturbances increase this risk significantly.
7. Increased Risk of Stroke
Studies have established a connection between inadequate sleep and an increased stroke risk. Sleep issues, including difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep through the night, waking during the night, tossing and turning, or excessive daytime napping, can all increase one’s risk of stroke due to their effects on blood vessels and brain function. Lack of sleep increases risk factors for stroke, such as obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes. Sleep deprivation also increases blood clot formation and hinders our body’s ability to flush away toxins efficiently from our system.
Researchers are employing various strategies to enhance patient sleeping habits, including cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, circadian adjustment techniques, and workplace modifications for shift workers. Their efforts may improve patient outcomes and lower stroke risks.
8. Increased Risk of Diabetes
Sleep loss has been linked with an increased risk of diabetes, a condition in which glucose levels become too high. Studies suggest that people sleeping fewer than six hours each night have an increased chance of insulin resistance and prediabetes, which may lead to full-blown type 2 diabetes later on.
Sleep is a complex behavioral and physiological process involving an alternation between nonrapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) stages; deep NREM stages are considered the most restorative. People living with chronic health conditions like diabetes frequently have additional sleep issues like obstructive sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome that increase their risk for diabetic complications.
9. Increased Risk of Cancer
Sleep should not be seen as an optional extra. Studies show that people who get enough restful sleep are less likely to develop cancer than those who don’t get as much.
Sleep deprivation can have devastating consequences, from altering your mood and impacting mental ability to increasing accidents and injuries, as well as altering how well medical treatments work, such as increased pain levels or prolonged hospital stays.
