Your Body On Lack Of Sleep

We need sleep. Sleep is not unique to humans, either. Insects, birds, fish, lizards, and everything in between sleep. Just as much as we all need sleep, we have all suffered from a bad night of sleep. We’ve felt the heavy eyes, the inability to focus and wandering-mind that comes from not having a restful night. So, what happens to our bodies when we don’t have enough sleep?

Different Physical and Mental Impacts

There are physical, mental and emotional impacts on your body by not getting enough sleep. There are short term as well as more long-term effects that a lack of sleep can have on your body. It really depends on how long this “lack of sleep” goes on for. 

Short Term Symptoms

With 24 hours of no sleep, you can feel sleepy and irritable. Your decision making abilities will suffer and you are at a higher risk of accidents when operating machinery, driving or using any other machines or vehicle. 

Everyone has probably experienced this - not sleeping well and finding it hard to focus or stay awake at your desk the next day. The impact of a single night of bad sleep shows just how vital this process is for our health. As a basic level, sleep and survival go hand in hand.

A myth is that if you lose an hour of sleep, you just need an extra hour the next night. 

Short term sleep loss can take up to 4 days to recover. This is why it’s important to have a sleep routine and to take your daily sleep quality seriously

Longer Periods of Lack of Sleep

Long term periods of time without quality sleep can have short term and long term impacts on your health. Long term lack of sleep is connected to hypertension, heart attacks, obesity, diabetes, depression and anxiety. Because sleep regulated our hormones, our memory and our immune systems, lack of sleep can make you more prone to illness, memory loss, and even fertility rates. 

Sleep Cycles on a Lack of Sleep

There are different cycles that your body goes through when sleeping on a typical night. These cycles are awake, light sleep, deep sleep and REM sleep. Each cycle is used for different purposes, from dropping heart rate and body temperature, restoring muscle and tissue damage to aiding with memory, learning and problem solving. 

Studies have shown that suffering from a lack of sleep can cause longer levels of REM when you finally do get a chance to sleep. Your brain does this to give your body extra time to recover and repair. After suffering from sleep deprivation or lack of sleep, this higher level of “sleep intensity” can mean more vivid dreams and a higher chance of remembering your dreams. 

Why Does a Lack of Sleep Make You Cranky?

Irritability and moodiness is one of the most common emotional symptoms of a lack of sleep. A lack of sleep is related to almost all “downer” emotions including frustration, sadness and anger. The reason for this is that sleep not only helps us regulate our mood hormones but the act of sleeping and dreaming can help our brains work through our problems. 

While there are many unknowns about dreams, one of the theories is that dreaming is our brain's way of processing our instinctive reactions, emotions and feelings. By eliminating that opportunity, whether voluntarily by not sleeping enough or because of sleep disorders, a lack of sleep can make us more moody. 

This is one reason why sleeping on a big decision or going to bed after being upset could actually help. Giving your brain a night to work through the initial emotions can make the decision making process more productive. 

Long Term Effects of a Lack of Sleep

Lacking sleep for long periods of time is associated with some serious medical issues. High blood pressure, weight gain, heart attack, stroke, memory loss, a weakened immune system and even lower fertility rates. The impact on sleep on a person's body as a whole cannot be emphasized enough. This is perhaps why we feel so terrible when we don’t sleep enough; It’s our body's way of warning us of the dangers of not closing our eyes and taking a snooze. 

Your Body and a Lack of Sleep

There are many reasons that you may not get enough sleep. Stress, sleep disorders or lifestyle changes are just a few things that could impact your sleep quality. It’s important to be aware of how this can impact you physically and mentally and to take getting enough sleep seriously.