The Alarming Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Your Mental and Physical Health

By Your Health Magazine

One thing crucial in the functioning of both the mind and the body is sleep. We often compromise on sleep in the run for work, life commitments, social activities, or other reasons. We don’t realize its long-term impact on our well-being.

Occasionally getting little to no sleep may be normal, but consecutively having sleepless nights for any reason can be classified as sleep deprivation. Whether it be short-term or chronic, there is always a risk of negative effects on your health. So, what happens if you don’t sleep enough for a prolonged period of time? How does a lack of sleep affect physical health and what’s its importance for mental health? Let’s explore the answers.

How Much Sleep Is Necessary?

There has been a lot of research to find out the recommended sleep duration, and the results varied depending on gender, age, lifestyle, and overall health. Typically, babies and children need more hours of sleep because those are developing years, whereas as people grow, they tend to need comparatively less sleep.

According to a statement passed by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and Sleep Research Society, it is important for adults to get 7 or more hours of sleep for optimal health. If you regularly don’t get yourself at least this much sleep, you can risk deterioration of health because of sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation symptoms commonly include difficulty falling asleep, excessive daytime sleepiness, diminished alertness, difficulty paying attention, mood swings, fatigue, and headaches. Chronic sleep deprivation can disrupt essential restorative processes, leading to significant mental and physical health issues over time.

Always listen to your body: if you’ve had a stressful day, you may require more sleep than usual to get quality rest and recover. Prioritizing sleep is crucial for overall well-being, as inadequate rest can exacerbate existing health conditions and hinder daily functioning.

Why Does A Lack of Sleep Affect Your Body’s Performance?

Sleep, especially REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and deeper sleep stages, is crucial for the brain and body to carry out various restorative processes. REM sleep is significant for cognitive functioning, such as emotional regulation and memory transformation, while deep sleep plays a role in tissue repair, muscle growth, and the immune system.

Lack of sleep disrupts these important processes, resulting in both mental and physical fatigue. It also increases the production of the stress hormone, cortisol, because the body then requires it to stay awake. Over time, insufficient sleep can affect tissues and organs, leading to many long-term mental and physical health issues. If you’re struggling with sleep deprivation, you can reach out to healthcare professionals via telehealth and potentially obtain a prescription for sleep medication online if necessary in your case.

Mental Effects of Sleep Deprivation

Sleep and mental health have a reciprocal relationship where distortion in one worsens the other. Some of the noticeable psychological effects of sleep deprivation include:

Development or exacerbation of anxiety, depression, suicide ideation, psychosis, and bipolar disorder.
Emotional instability expressed through increased irritability, agitation, and mood swings.
Difficulty focusing and concentrating on tasks contributing to decreased productivity and performance.
Memory consolation, causing learning problems and forgetfulness.
Impaired functioning of the prefrontal cortex in the brain, compromising mental clarity and one’s ability to make smart decisions and solve problems.
A lack of motivation and enthusiasm to engage in your favorite activities.
Without restful sleep, one may feel groggy the next morning or even experience a “mental block,” creating hurdles in one’s creativity.

Physical Effects of Sleep Deprivation

Sleep also regulates and restores the functioning of various body systems, so some of the physical effects of sleep deprivation include:

Worsened cardiovascular health, including an increased risk of hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure.
A higher probability of obesity, because a lack of sleep reduces metabolic rate. It also causes an imbalance of ghrelin (hunger hormone) and leptin (satiety hormone), which can lead to excessive weight gain.
Reduced cytokine production, which plays a pivotal role in fighting off infections, leaving the body with a weak immune system and more susceptible to illnesses.
Decreased insulin sensitivity and raised blood glucose levels, which can set off the aggravation of diabetes.
Issues with the digestive system and gut health, an increased risk of gastrointestinal disorders. These include irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), diarrhea, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), nausea, peptic ulcer disease (PUD), and liver disease.
Due to sleeplessness, skin doesn’t recover and repair efficiently causing premature aging such as fine lines, wrinkles, weak skin barrier, dull skin, and dark circles.
Insufficient sleep doesn’t allow your muscles to recover and repair diminishing endurance, physical performance, stamina, and motor coordination.

10 Coping Strategies for Sleep Deprivation

Coping with sleep deprivation requires a combination of lifestyle changes, improved sleep hygiene, and medical treatments. Some helpful strategies to help with not getting enough sleep include:

Maintain a consistent sleep schedule: Try waking up and going to sleep at the same time daily, even on weekends. If you can’t fall asleep, stay in bed and wake up on time. This regulates circadian rhythm and improves sleep quality and duration.
Mindfulness and relaxation techniques: Techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing exercises, meditation, and yoga help calm down your brain and body to improve your sleep.
Building a sleep-friendly environment: Keep your room dark and cool using curtains, a comfortable pillow and mattress, have minimum distractions, and use white noise to help you sleep better.
Cut back on caffeine and alcohol use: Avoid stimulants like caffeine and alcohol, especially close to bedtime as it can disturb sleep.
Limit screen use: Try not to use laptops and other screens before bed as they emit blue light, which has been shown to disrupt sleep patterns by interfering with melatonin—making it harder to fall asleep.
Avoid heavy meals near bedtime: Eating large meals late at night can cause discomfort and indigestion, keeping you up, so go for a light snack if you’re hungry before bed.
Exercise regularly: Engaging in 30 minutes of physical activity daily can help reduce anxiety and stress to promote better sleep quality. However, don’t work out too close to bedtime.
Restrict naps: Taking a short nap can be helpful in overcoming occasional sleep deprivation but napping later in the day or excessively may interfere with your nighttime sleep.
Keep track through technology: There are various apps and wearable devices available to monitor your sleep cycles and identify any factors that may be interfering with your sleep.
Medical interventions: Seek medical professional help if sleep deprivation is affecting your life. A healthcare professional will devise a treatment plan for chronic sleep issues, which can include cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), over-the-counter sleep supplements, and prescription medications.

Conclusion

Sleep deprivation can affect both mental and physical health, so it is important to prioritize sleep and well-being above all. If lifestyle changes are not enough to address sleep problems, seeking medical treatment is necessary. Prioritizing sleep is not just about feeling rested, it’s about maintaining optimal health and performance in all areas of life.