Do you feel irritated during the day and lack concentration? Have you asked yourself how you have been sleeping lately? If not, health experts suggest stopping and thinking about your sleeping health.
Quite often, we sacrifice our sleep for the sake of preserving a busy lifestyle. We go on and on without sleeping properly for days, weeks, and sometimes months – and then we wonder what’s wrong with our bodies, our moods, as well as with our brains. Sleeping well and for a minimum of six to seven hours has become a utopian topic, in this fast-driven, anxious living society. Yet, it is crucial for a healthy lifestyle which we all so much seem to crave.
I was never THAT aware of just how much sleep can impact my mental well-being until i suffered from severe insomnia for about four weeks straight. That is when i even started looking up facts related to how deprivation of sleep impacts our lives and routines, and here’s some of the things i found out.
Mood Swings
Have you noticed how your mood changes, when you have not slept well the night(s) before? You go from experiencing very hyperactive, cheerful moments to immediate feelings of sadness or remorse, for others, or for yourself. Quite often, we have reasons for these feelings. However, seems like most of the time it’s the chemicals inside our brains screaming for more sleep.
Weight Changes
If you’ve noticed yourself experiencing weight changes, especially gaining weight, sleep deprivation may be one of its causes. Of course, eating more than one can handle and not moving or exercising are the main factors of obesity, but here’s what we know: sleep affects the levels of two hormones, leptin, and ghrelin, which control feelings of hunger and fullness. Now, if you haven’t had enough sleep, your brain reduces the levels of leptin and raises the levels of ghrelin. Grehlin is an appetite stimulant, so you can pretty much connect the dots.
Memory loss & Productivity loss
Poor sleep can also impact how much we remember things but turns out that it can also impact what we remember. According to Sleep Foundation, poor sleep impairs memory consolidation by throwing off the normal process that draws on both NREM and REM sleep for building and retaining memories. Studies have even found that people who are sleep deprived are at risk of forming false memories.
Communication difficulties
Quite often, sleep deprivation places us at risk of fighting and losing peace with our partners, siblings, friends, and family. This is because we become highly irritated, and cannot think straight enough – not even straight enough to articulate our needs and thoughts better. When you’re feeling triggered by your loved ones, and you feel out of control, count the hours of sleep you managed to have the previous night.
Psychological Risks
I freaked out when i saw that lack of sleep can become a problem to the extent of becoming the cause of serious psychological disorders. According to Healthline, If sleep deprivation continues long enough, you could start having hallucinations — seeing or hearing things that aren’t really there. Healthline also warns us that a lack of sleep can also trigger mania in people who have bipolar mood disorder or cause other psychological risks such as impulsive behavior, anxiety, depression, and paranoia.
Photo: pathdoc/Shutterstock
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