What happens to your body when you don’t sleep enough

Not sleeping enough is never fun. It happens to nearly everyone once in a while, and it feels very annoying and inconvenient. However, for some people, it is more than just an occasional irritation. If it becomes a regular occurrence, it can cause a whole number of serious issues.

Take a look through the following gallery to discover the bad things that lack of sleep can lead to.

Sleepiness

This one’s obvious: if you haven’t slept properly, you are very likely to become extremely tired during the day. This could affect your work, and land you in a very undesirable situation.

Cancer

If you are up late at night watching TV because you can’t sleep, your body will produce less melatonin. This can lead to cancer.

Premature aging

Sleep allows the body to heal itself. When you are deprived of sleep, the natural aging process will therefore accelerate.

Impulse control issues

The less sleep you have, the more likely you are to make negative decisions and have poor impulse control.

Compromised immune system

Not sleeping enough can lead to a compromised immune system, which makes you far more susceptible to having frequent colds and the like.

Loneliness

If you are lying awake at night, you will naturally feel lonely, even if you have a sleeping partner next to you.

Slower reactions

If you are not getting enough sleep, your reaction times will decrease, as your body will be in a continual state of fatigue.

Alzheimer’s disease

Lack of decent sleep can lead to Alzheimer’s disease, which is the leading cause of dementia. It can also lead to early onset Alzheimer’s.

Anxiety

If you are prone to anxiety, it is of vital importance that you get as much sleep as possible. Avoid caffeine completely, or at least for several hours before sleeping.

High blood pressure

Lack of sleep can cause the body to go through stress, which in turn can exacerbate high blood pressure.

Car accidents

If you haven’t slept properly, you may be in a drowsy state, and therefore are in no decent condition to drive. Leave the car at home on those days.

Headaches

If you get headaches, or especially migraines, make sure to try and get as much sleep as possible. Not sleeping enough can make symptoms far worse.

Irritability

Being sleep deprived will put us in strange and irritable moods. This is understandable, because people do not function at their best when their body is craving something important, like sleep.

Inflammation

Lack of sleep can lead to inflammation of joints, and muscular issues. Proper sleep, a balanced diet, and keeping hydrated will always help.

Memory loss

Not having enough sleep can have a detrimental effect on both your short and long-term memory. This can be a particularly bad thing for students.

Bed wetting

Sleep deprivation can lead to a greater production of urine, which can mean either having to get up many times at night to use the bathroom, or wetting the bed.

Heart disease

It is a scientific fact that there is a strong link between lack of sleep and heart disease. Think twice before agreeing to do all those overtime hours.

Hallucinations

Lack of sleep can cause confusion in terms of things like perception of shapes.

Gastrointestinal issues

Issues such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) are often exacerbated by a lack of sleep. The amount of sleep you have is important for the regulation of your metabolism.

Bedroom issues

There is nothing like constant tiredness and irritability to diminish the libido! If this is causing damage to your relationship with your partner, talk about it with them soon.

Vision issues

Not getting enough sleep can lead to various problems with your eyes, such as blurred vision or dryness.

Diabetes

There is a definite link between sleep disorders and Type 2 diabetes. The risk of insulin resistance rises when you don’t have sufficient sleep.

Healing delay

When you are asleep, your body repairs itself. Therefore, it will always take longer to recover from an injury or illness if you are not sleeping properly.

Source: What happens to your body when you don’t sleep enough (msn.com)