Sleep deprivation could be ruining your health, here’s how

Getting a good night’s sleep is vital for our health and wellbeing, it is not just for recharging for the day ahead.

It is not hard to find someone that struggles to sleep or stay asleep, those that do will suffer subsequently.

The most common immediate side effect you will get from a lack of sleep is not being able to function properly throughout the day, you will feel stressed, emotional, easily annoyed, and will find it hard to concentrate.

Of course, one random night of short sleep will not have a lasting effect, but if it is a common occurrence that you do not get the recommended 7 to 9 hours, there can be some longer lasting issues to your health.

Sleep is something that our body needs, it is not a choice, it is important for brain function, especially learning and creating memories.

Sleep also helps to repair any cell damage and restore energy lost from the previous day. Other restorative functions also occur when you are asleep including, tissue repair, muscle growth and growth hormone release.

Sleeping also helps us repair and heal our heart and blood vessels. When we sleep our blood pressure goes down, if you have trouble sleeping then your blood pressure will stay higher for a long period of time, which can cause high blood pressure which can result in heart disease and strokes.

Health issues caused by lack of sleep

Lack of sleep can make us more susceptible to new viruses and bacteria by decreasing the availability of disease-fighting substances that are released or created while we sleep.

A disruption in the sleep cycle can contribute to cardiovascular diseases. It is thought that sleeping too little causes disruptions in underlying health conditions and biological processes like glucose metabolism, blood pressure, and inflammation, which in turn can increase a person’s risk of diabetes.

Not getting enough sleep can also lead to irritability and stress, if you experience sleep deprivation on a regular basis, you are more likely to develop mood disorders such as depression.