A lot of mental and physical issues occur without rest, so read on to learn the impact of sleep deprivation on your mind and body.
Sleep is vital to your mental and physical health. If you can’t sleep at night, here’s what’s happening to your body.
If you have ever spent the night tossing and turning, unable to sleep, then you will know full well how much it can impact you the next day.
You may wake up feeling cranky, out of sorts and just unable to concentrate. That being said, if you are able to sleep, but you just don’t get enough of it, you can experience similar effects. They just won’t be as noticeable. And this is why it is so important that you monitor your sleep as much as possible.
If you can do this, then you can stop yourself from feeling grumpy and agitated during the day.
As you might know, I am a bestselling author of the resiliency psychology filled book called Bounce Back. Plus I founded the groundbreaking video course called The Anxiety Cure.
I personally know what it’s like to feel stressed and anxious. Thankfully I also know how to develop the superpower of calm. I’m committed to helping people to live calm, happy lives – which is why I decided to write this article.
If you want to find out which parts of the body sleep deprivation hits the hardest, then you can find out below.
Your central nervous system is the information highway for your body. Sleep is absolutely essential if you want to keep everything functioning as it should, but that being said, chronic insomnia can disrupt how the body sends and processes information. During sleep, pathways form in the brain and this helps you to remember any new information you might have learnt. If you become sleep deprived, then this will leave your brain mentally exhausted. In short, it will render you unable to perform as well.
You may also find it more difficult to concentrate and to also learn new things. The signals that your body sends can also be delayed, causing you to experience a decreased level of coordination. If you are struggling with sleep because you are going through a stressful time in your life, then you should know that there are solutions out there for you to choose from.
This can include getting some sleep aid from an online pharmacy and doctor. It may be that you need to talk to your doctor about getting a referral for a counsellor as well, as they can give you the help and support you need to ensure that you are able to sleep well. Not being able to sleep properly is particularly hard on women who are new mothers, as it makes it much harder for them to function the next day when they have a new baby to care for. For this reason, sleep should always be made a priority, where possible, even if you have to take several naps during the day until you can get your child into a good routine.
While you sleep, your immune system will be producing a protective and infection-fighting substance. This can include a mixture of antibodies and cytokines. Certain cytokines help you to sleep well, and it helps to make your immune system more efficient when it comes to defending against illness. Sleep deprivation stops your immune system from being able to build a good wall of defense. It can also make you take longer to recover from an illness as well. If you want to help yourself then it is so essential that you try and boost your immune system by getting enough sleep.
The relationship between the respiratory system and sleep can work both ways. As you wake up throughout the night, you may find that you experience sleep deprivation, and this can leave you far more vulnerable to things like respiratory infections. If you want to protect yourself then you have to make sure that you are sleeping at a reasonable hour, and you also need to make sure that you are sleeping well too.
Did you know that not sleeping enough can be just as bad for you, as not exercising or eating well? Sleep affects two major hormones, ghrelin and leptin. These both control the feelings of hunger and fullness. Leptin tells your brain that you have had enough to eat, and if you are not sleeping well, then your brain will reduce this, and increase ghrelin. Ghrelin is an appetite stimulant. These two hormones, if they are out of sync, may be the reason why you end up snacking at night. It also explains why people tend to overeat at night, whereas other people don’t.
Sleep affects the process that helps to keep your heart and your blood vessels healthy. It also includes those that affect your inflammation and blood pressure. People who don’t sleep enough are much more likely to develop heart problems. Studies have also shown that insomnia is linked to heart attacks as well as strokes.
Hormone production is truly dependent on sleep. If you want to produce testosterone, you need at least 3 hours of sleep, uninterrupted every single day. This is the time of a single R.E.M episode. If you wake up a lot, then this can really throw your hormone production out of whack. Sleep interruption can also affect growth hormones. This is especially the case in children and also in adolescents. These hormones help to build muscle mass and it also helps to repair tissues and cells.
If you are concerned that your circadian rhythm is poor, then your doctor may try and organise a sleep study for you. This will normally be carried out at a sleep centre but there are other options that you can use. It may be that you can measure the quality of sleep you are getting at home so that you can make the right changes.
If you are diagnosed with a condition such as sleep apnoea then your doctor may be able to give you some medication or even a device. This will help you to keep your airways open at night so that you can combat the disorder. This will give you a way better night’s sleep and it will also help you to put an end to the constant frustration that comes with lack of sleep.
Rather than trying to deal with all of the issues that come with lack of sleep, you need to deal with the issue at the root source. This may mean trying to reduce the amount of stress that you are experiencing right now, or it may mean investing in a good mattress. On top of that, you may need to talk to your doctor about the reasons why you can’t sleep, so they can recommend something.
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