If you’ve ever tossed and turned all night, you know how you’ll feel the next day: weary, grumpy, and out of sorts. But not getting the required seven to nine hours of sleep every night makes you sluggish and irritable.
Sleep deprivation also has long-term consequences. It depletes your cerebral capacities and jeopardizes your physical health. Poor sleep has been related to various health issues, ranging from weight gain to a compromised immune system.
Continue reading to learn about the causes of sleep deprivation and how it affects vital bodily processes and systems.
What Is Causing Your Sleep Deprivation?
Sleep deprivation is caused by a continuous lack of sleep or poor sleep quality. Sleeping fewer than seven hours each night might have long-term health repercussions that impact your whole body. An underlying sleep issue such as insomnia might also be to blame.
To function properly, your body needs sleep, much like it needs oxygen and food. Your body recovers and restores its chemical equilibrium as you sleep. Your brain creates new mental connections and aids memory retention.
If you do not get help with insomnia, your brain and body processes will not work properly if you do not get enough sleep. It can also significantly reduce your quality of life.
Sleep Disorders
Sleep disorders such as Sleep Apnea, Restless Leg Syndrome, and REM disorders like sleep waling can all be responsible for causing a lack of sleep. There are many causes for sleep deprivation, and it can be complicated to narrow down the issues.
This is why it is vital to seek a sleep specialist if you are experiencing troubles in your sleep or trying to get to sleep.
How It Affects Your Central Nervous System
Your central nervous system is your body’s primary information highway. Sleep is required for it to work correctly, and severe insomnia can interfere with how your body transmits and processes information.
Sleep deprivation exhausts your brain, causing it to work inefficiently. It may also be more difficult for you to concentrate or learn new things. Your body’s signals may also be delayed, reducing your coordination and raising your chance of an accident.
Sleep deprivation has a destructive impact on your brain capacities as well as your emotional condition. You may become more irritable or prone to mood changes. It can also jeopardize decision-making and creativity.
How It Weakens the Immune System
Your immune system creates protective, infection-fighting chemicals such as antibodies and cytokines while you sleep. These compounds are used to battle external invaders such as bacteria and viruses.
Specific cytokines also aid with sleep, allowing your immune system to be more effective in defending your body against sickness.
Sleep deprivation stops your immune system from replenishing itself daily. If you don’t get enough sleep, your body may be unable to fight against intruders, and recovering from a disease may take longer.
Impairing the Digestive System
Sleep deprivation, along with eating too much and not exercising, is a risk factor for being overweight or obese. Sleep influences the levels of two hormones—leptin and ghrelin—which regulate appetite and fullness.
Leptin signals to your brain that you’ve received enough food. Without adequate sleep, your brain decreases leptin and increases ghrelin, a hunger stimulant. The fluctuation of these hormones might explain why people nibble at night or overeat later in the evening.
Effects on the Cardiovascular System
Sleep influences processes that maintain your heart and blood vessels healthy, such as blood sugar, blood pressure, and inflammatory levels. It also aids your body’s capacity to mend and rebuild blood vessels and the heart. Sleeping less than recommended increases the risk of heart attack and stroke by as much as 20%.
Conclusion
Sleep deprivation can have many consequences. It can lead to poor mental and physical health, decreased productivity, and increased accidents and errors. It is essential to get enough sleep to avoid these consequences.
Are you looking for sleep solutions in Surrey? Sleep Better Live Better offers a variety of sleep solutions and therapies to ensure you sleep and breathe better. Book a consultation today!
