10 Surprising Ways
Sleep Deprivation
Affects Your Health
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Soooo tired.
Sleep-deprivation causes fatigue, low energy and excessive sleepiness.
Leave me alone.
Mood is the first thing to go if you’re sleep-deprived.
Sleep loss can cause neurological disturbances, including blurred vision, memory lapses, poor reaction time and drooping eyelids.
Where did I put my keys?
Lack of sleep in children and teens can cause behavior problems, impaired learning, poor concentration and decreased school performance.
It’s even worse for kids!
Sleep deprivation can cause impaired glucose tolerance, or higher than normal blood sugar levels.
You might develop prediabetes.
Research has found women who slept less than seven hours per night were more likely to suffer coronary events than women who got eight hours of ZZZs nightly. Further, untreated sleep apnea is associated with hyper-tension, cardiac arrhythmias and stroke.
You might hurt your heart.
Your immune system is more likely to break down when you’ve burned the candle at both ends.
Ah-choo!
Sleep deprivation can cause abnormal thyroid function and growth hormone secretion.
Your thyroid or hormones might declare mutiny.
Not getting enough sleep causes elevated evening cortisol (or “stress hormone” levels). A good night’s sleep naturally reduces cortisol levels in your body.
I’m stressed out!
You’re more hungry (especially for sweets and snacks!) because sleep deprivation alters key hormone levels (ghrelin, leptin and cortisol), research shows.
Packing on the pounds?
Sources
The Cleveland Clinic Guide to Sleep Disorders. Nancy Foldvary-Schaefer, DO. Kaplan Publishing.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18239586?dopt=Citation
health.clevelandclinic.org/2016/04/lack-sleep-make-crave-junk-food
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