Not sleeping adequately is terrible. However, doing it on a long-term basis is much worse.
There is a price to pay for those who neglect the proper amount of time that should be given to sleep. Illnesses and susceptibility to diseases are among the things that you should watch out if you are passing your nights with your eyes awake.
Sadly, chronic deprivation is pretty common today. After all, there are a lot of triggering factors that heighten its prevalence. Stress, for one, is a malignant factor why many individuals are not getting enough sleep these days.
However, such disorder should be overcome. Otherwise, you will suffer from these harmful effects of long-term sleep deprivation.
1. Obesity
If you are concerned about your figure, then you should start to sleep correctly. You see, fast and uncontrolled weight gain is one of the repercussions of sleep disorders. Once you continually skip bedtime, your body will undergo some unwanted changes.
Sleep deprivation causes the rapid release of cortisol. The latter is a hormone that is somehow directly related to stress. The more cortisol you have in your body, the more prone you are pressure and anxiety as well.
Being stressed causes a person to have a loose eating habit. Aside from binge-eating, stressed individuals also tend to eat a lot of unhealthy foods.
Furthermore, sleep deprivation also causes the release ghrelin in the stomach. High levels of ghrelin in the body can make a person hungrier. Overall, it is already undeniable that long-term chronic sleep deprivation causes disruptions in your metabolism.
On the flip side, one should know that sleep helps in weight loss.
2. Weakened Mental Function
2. Weakened Mental Function
People who are sleep deprived tend to experience loss of concentration and focus. Their mental functions subside to a level where they can be a frequent victim of mental fog, which in any sense, is not a good thing at all.
You need rest so that your brain can function well. The busiest organ in your body has to rest as well. If you keep on exhausting it, its performance will be drastically reduced.
It has been observed as well that the cognitive abilities of a sleep-deprived person are not on par than those who have a regular sleeping schedule. It can even affect the brain’s capability to control the locomotion of the body, making a person more susceptible to injuries.
A weak brain is not an alarming issue. Fortunately, there are ways you can conquer it.
Aside from sleeping properly, it is also essential that you take brain boosters like nootropics. A nootropic is a unique substance that enhances the performance of the brain. It can improve the brain’s learning capacity, as well as its defense against toxins and other risks posed by sleep deprivation.
3. Diabetes
ou should be aware that sleep deprivation has a close affinity to diabetes. And anyone who doesn’t want to fall into this sugary death trap must dedicate more time sleeping.
The trigger of diabetes is not only consuming an excessive amount of glucose and other sugary contents. Sometimes, it is your lifestyle that can be blamed why people are prone to this disease.
For instance, sleep deprivation can impede the metabolism of glucose. When glucose is not processed correctly, it will be stuck in your body in the form of sugar. Furthermore, it has been found out that insufficiency in sleep can disrupt the production of glucose.
When all of these things partake, a person’s tendency to develop type 2 diabetes is elevated.
4. Depression
Depression is an alarming mental issue that has taken the lives of many into ruin. There are many reported cases of suicide due that are linked to this problem. Without proper intervention, depression can indeed overcome a person’s will to live.
Of course, depression doesn’t happen in the blink of an eye. There are various reasons why this happens. One of this is sleep deprivation.
Various studies suggest that people who are not sleeping well have higher risks of being inflicted by anxiety and frustration. Over time, these negative emotions can lead to more serious mental problems.
Irregular sleeping schedules can also affect the production of melatonin. The latter is a hormone that is said to be directly responsible for the regulation of emotions. Lower levels of melatonin will immediately have negative repercussions on someone’s mental and emotional stability.
