5 Weird Adverse Impacts Of Inadequate Sleep

When it comes to speaking about eating healthy and exercising regularly, everyone becomes a health advisor. But what about adequate sleep? No one actually knows the health benefits of sleeping for at least 7 hours each night. Proper and sound sleep can ensure appropriate functioning of the repair mechanism that heals your stressed body and mind.

Whereas inadequate sleep may trigger feeling of being lethargic, tired and you tend to get sensitive or irritated over petty things. Your hormones don’t function properly and your ability to perceive things or grasping skills are highly impacted due to insufficient sleep. Moreover, if you suffer from inadequate sleep consistently for days or weeks, then you may even suffer from sleep disorder called insomnia and it might create a havoc on your health condition.

The modern world requires you to be too busy due to the rising competition levels at all spheres causing you to work overtime often. You are even letting your work come with you at home and you are hardly able to balance your work and family life leading to a mismanaged lifestyle. With all the stress piling up, proper rest is a must. If you don’t sleep for 7 hours, then you may accumulate more and more stress and gradually invite diseases such as stroke, high blood pressure, thyroid, etc. Besides these health hazards, there are other demerits of sleeping less, which you can know by reading these 5 weird adverse impacts of inadequate sleep:

1. You Stake Your Productivity At Work

If you don’t sleep for sufficient hours, then your mind will be irritated and you will find it very easy to pour your anger on any of your subordinate even for a minor mistake. You will gradually lose patience and you will start getting furious on anyone. Also in comparison to your colleagues, you will find yourself procrastinating work and your concentration levels will drop.

As per medical studies, sleep deprivation can cause the glucose level in the pre-frontal cortex of the brain to drop down fast, resulting in low fuel for keeping the brain functioning properly. This causes you to indulge in unethical practises at workplace such as making unreasonable excuses, not giving attention to work, purposely working slow and indulging more in gossips along with spending more time in checking social networking site accounts. You will hardly be able to regulate your mental stability and your decision making skills will become haywire.

2. You May Fall Prey To Depression

Lack of adequate sleep for a long time may make you feel lethargic all the time and you may become less productive at your workplace. Your falling performance at workplace and your inability to strike a balance between work and family life will gradually cause depression. There is a unique relationship with sleep and depression. You may not sleep adequately if you suffer from depression and depression will further rob your sleep leading to poor health condition. Your inability to sleep for a standard 7 hours can increase your stress levels, feeling of fatigue and may hamper your self confidence along with your self awareness towards your health.

Your health condition may get worse if you don’t start scheduling your sleep time. You must make it a routine to sleep by 10 pm if you want to wake up at 5 am. You must prepare yourself for sleep every night. Before sleeping, have a bath or read a positive/ motivational book that soothes your mind. Also make sure that you don’t watch television just before sleeping or keep your phones with you while sleeping as they can stimulate the brain and postpone the release of sleep hormones.

3. You May Put On Extra Pounds

When you are unable to take adequate sleep, then it will have a direct impact on your hunger pangs. When you are not sleeping, you tend to feel bored and you eventually start feeling hungry. The hunger and appetite hormones ghrelin and leptin are highly affected by lack of sleep. The moment you are sleep deprived, the ghrelin hormone indicates that this is the right time to eat, while your leptin hormone that tells you to stop eating is less during periods of inadequate sleep. So more of ghrelin and less leptin is the perfect formula for a catapult in weight. Since you are less in control of your actions when you sleep less, you are prone to overeating and mid night snacking. You will not be in a position to discriminate food items that are good and bad for health. You just focus on keeping your cravings satisfied.

4. Your Driving Skills May Prove Disastrous

Chronic sleep inadequacy can prove disastrous especially if you drive a vehicle. Since you are unable to self-regulate your thought process and actions due to the feeling of fatigue, you are risking yourself and others by driving in such a condition. In many countries, facts and figures of many accidents have proved that majority of accidents are caused due to the impact of fatigue and inadequate rest. Drowsy driving can be a major cause of casualties on roads. Your mental instability can prove hazardous for yourself and others when you are behind the wheel.

Professional drivers who drive for earning their living are at a higher risk. Inadequate rest is common as they need to drive for hours to drop their passengers to their destination. You need to be highly attentive while driving and therefore, consumption of caffeine, soda and energy drinks to perk up your mind should actually be avoided. Such drinks may kick your senses for a while but can deprive you of sleep when you need it the most.

Recommended: 6 Things To Avoid Just Before Sleeping

5. You Get Socially Disconnected

Your behaviour may take a 360 degree turn when you are suffering from insomnia or chronic sleep deprivation. You may become frustrated and irritated over small matters and you eventually end up having fights with people around you at personal space too. Your ability to understand things and react declines and you tend to become impatient. People around you will not like to mingle with you and you will slowly find people keeping distance from you.

You need to understand that your sleep patterns are destroying your personal relationships and therefore, you need to make your bed highly comfortable for you to have a sound sleep. You must ensure that the temperature is appropriate and it is dark and silent when you head to your bed.