To diagnose these conditions, your doctor may order a sleep study. The following are some of the most common types of sleep disorders: They may also increase your risk for the above effects of sleep deprivation on the body. Sleep disorders may make it difficult to get quality sleep at night. After this point, you may need help from your doctor or a sleep specialist who, if needed, can diagnose and treat a possible sleep disorder. This is often easier said than done, especially if you’ve been deprived of precious shut-eye for several weeks or longer. The most basic form of sleep deprivation treatment is getting an adequate amount of sleep, typically 7 to 9 hours each night. These disruptions can lead to diabetes mellitus and obesity. Sleep deprivation also lowers the body’s tolerance for glucose and is associated with insulin resistance. Insulin helps to reduce your blood sugar (glucose) level. Sleep deprivation also causes your body to release less insulin after you eat. Over time, reduced physical activity can make you gain weight because you’re not burning enough calories and not building muscle mass. The flux of these hormones could explain nighttime snacking or why someone may overeat later in the night.Ī lack of sleep can also make you feel too tired to exercise. Without enough sleep, your brain reduces leptin and raises ghrelin, which is an appetite stimulant. Leptin tells your brain that you’ve had enough to eat. Sleep affects the levels of two hormones, leptin and ghrelin, which control feelings of hunger and fullness. It can also make you more prone to injury if you operate heavy machinery at work and have a microsleep episode.Īlong with eating too much and not exercising, sleep deprivation is another risk factor for becoming overweight and obese. Microsleep is out of your control and can be extremely dangerous if you’re driving.
During these episodes, you’ll fall asleep for a few to several seconds without realizing it. You may also end up experiencing microsleep during the day. A lack of sleep can also trigger mania in people who have bipolar mood disorder. If sleep deprivation continues long enough, you could start having hallucinations - seeing or hearing things that aren’t really there. It can also compromise decision-making processes and creativity. You may feel more impatient or prone to mood swings. Sleep deprivation also negatively affects your mental abilities and emotional state. The signals your body sends may also be delayed, decreasing your coordination and increasing your risk for accidents. You may also find it more difficult to concentrate or learn new things. Sleep deprivation leaves your brain exhausted, so it can’t perform its duties as well. Sleep is necessary to keep it functioning properly, but chronic insomnia can disrupt how your body usually sends and processes information.ĭuring sleep, pathways form between nerve cells (neurons) in your brain that help you remember new information you’ve learned. Your central nervous system is the main information highway of your body.
This, in turn, may lead to a cycle of nighttime insomnia followed by daytime caffeine consumption to combat the tiredness caused by the lost hours of shut-eye.īehind the scenes, chronic sleep deprivation can interfere with your body’s internal systems and cause more than just the initial signs and symptoms listed above. In fact, these can make sleep deprivation worse by making it harder to fall asleep at night. Stimulants, such as caffeine, aren’t enough to override your body’s profound need for sleep. Noticeable signs of sleep deprivation include: It can also dramatically lower your quality of life.Ī review of studies in 2010 found that sleeping too little at night increases the risk of early death. Without enough sleep, your brain and body systems won’t function normally. Your brain forges new thought connections and helps memory retention.
During sleep, your body heals itself and restores its chemical balance. Your body needs sleep, just as it needs air and food to function at its best. This may also be caused by an underlying sleep disorder. Getting less than 7 hours of sleep on a regular basis can eventually lead to health consequences that affect your entire body. In a nutshell, sleep deprivation is caused by consistent lack of sleep or reduced quality of sleep.
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