Everyone is busy with their work and social life, that there aren’t enough waking hours to finish all that they have planned for the day. Because of this, many people, including businessmen, students and people at their homes, reduce their sleeping hours in order to have more time to finish their work. Although sometimes this can be productive, most people are aware that sleep deprivation is not healthy.
It is also very well known that lack of sleep affects our physical health. We become sluggish, uncontrollably gain or lose weight, and it can cause the development of illnesses, including diabetes. According to a neurologist at the University of Minnesota, sleep deprivation not only affects the physical wellbeing, but it also causes our brain to suffer and could make us experience the following side effects:
- Faster Aging:
Besides fatal diseases and obesity, sleep deprivation is one of the common causes of dementia. A habit to lose sleep for a longer period of time may lead to early death. It causes faster aging because sleep deprivation causes our metabolism to not function properly. - Bad Brain Processing:
Sleep deprivation may cause our brain to malfunction due to the lack of blood in our frontal lobe. When this happens, we can feel like a lost teenager as a result of the slowing down of our brain waves. This affects our decision making process and we may find it difficult to think clearly. - Dirty Brain:
Our active brain is like a busy machine that could get dirty. This is the reason why we need sleep in order to encourage the cerebrospinal fluid to get rid of the “dirt” and send it to the liver which will flush it out. Not getting enough sleep causes our brain to stay filthy which does not equate to being healthy. - Stress Multiplier:
When we’re tired and sleepy, our routine tasks, like doing our groceries, walking our dog, or driving from home to work, can make us feel as if they are overwhelming tasks. Our stress threshold lowers and this could even lead to depression.
If you are among the people who don’t value sleep, then you are putting your mental and physical capacities at risk. Sleep is a necessity and not just a luxury. A good night’s sleep is necessary in order to function properly the following day. Having enough sleep improves our memory, insight, and learning capability. And sleep deprivation only results to the opposite, which can eventually lead to mental and physical dysfunction.
Sourced: stethnews
