Are you one of the many people whose favourite morning drink is coffee to wake up yourself? It seems to like preparing yourself to face the world and without coffee you are drowsy and sleepy head. The main reason behind this can be lack of sleep which is taking toll on your system. Long term sleep deprivation can make you prone for many lifestyles diseases including insulin resistance, cardiovascular disorder and impaired brain functioning.
A peaceful good night sleep is important for the repair and recovery of all the wear and tear happened during the day. It works as a recharging mechanism for human body to be prepared for the next day. Sleep deprivation can affect your brain and cognitive functioning keeping your physical health. On chronic basis it can cause fatigue, sleepiness during the day, sudden weight loss or weight gain and hormonal imbalance. Sleeping less can also cause red eyes with heavy dark circles or puffiness around the eyes. Not only this, following are some important affects of sleep deprivation:
1. Weaken Immunity: Lack of sleep can weaken your defence mechanism which will lead to impaired immunity. On a longer run it can increase your risk of getting sick with common cold or viral when exposed to such germs.
2. Hormone Imbalance: Sleeping less can lead to increase in stress hormone “cortisol” which is responsible for mood swings. This can make you moody, emotional, short tempered and aggressive. This hormonal imbalance can lead to depression, anxiety or emotional breakdown if not controlled in right time.
3. Appetite Imbalance: Lack of sleep is one of the main reason for emotional eating. Many people have the tendency to overeat because your mind cannot register the hunger or satiety effectively which can lead to unwanted weight gain. On the other hand, some people have the tendency to stop eating because your body cannot manage appetite hormone which can lead to unwanted weight loss. Both the situation are hazardous for the health as unmanageable weight can put you at the risk of many lifestyle disorders.
4. Impaired brain functioning: Lack of sleep is detrimental for brain and cognitive function. During sleep your brain form connective cells which help you to remember and process information correctly. Sleep deprivation can cause difficulty in remembering things, focus and concentration. This is also affect your creativity and problem solving skills with right decisions.
5. Insulin Resistance: Lack of sleep affects the production of insulin in body. Insulin is the hormone which helps your cell to uptake the sugar and metabolise it for energy production. Without insulin serum sugar level increased which also hamper the metabolism and increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. People who sleep less have high blood sugar levels and higher insulin resistance in body leading to increased risk for type 2 diabetes.
6. Risk of heart disease: Lack of sleep can lead to increased blood pressure which can hamper the blood flow in body. Impaired blood flow can lead to higher risk of heart diseases. People who sleep less have more inflammation which affects the heart rhythm and health of blood vessels.
Keep yourself healthy with minimum 6 to 8 hours of sleep in a day. Enjoy your peaceful good night sleep and keep all the health risk at bay!