By: Ana Margarita Olar | Vigorbuddy.com
In our modern world, things have changed a lot. Even sleep becomes optional and not a necessity. There are many obstructions for an adequate sleep.
But we need to remember, sleep is the time when our body regenerates and repair itself. Otherwise, these are the dreadful effects:
DISTRESS
Still unknown by many, there are two types of stress. Eustress is a positive stress which we need every day to pursue in life. Distress is what disrupts our inner balance and causes pain or anxiety. Distress is what we’ll have if we are not sleeping at night.
The feeling of tiredness and being deprived all leads to a negative feeling that something is missing. We may try to do things to make up for lack of sleep. We may eat, oversleep, crave for unhealthy foods, but all these won’t work.
Nothing can replace an adequate sleep.
IMPAIRED DAILY FUNCTIONS
Lack of sleep will leave you feeling stressed and irritable. And in the morning, you have the tendency to project this irritability to another person or another aspect of your life. Being tired and irritable can lead to other problems. You may have difficulty focusing on a task.
You’ll be short tempered. You can also have poor judgment because you are too tired. When you are sleep deprived, you are not your best self.
WEAKENED IMMUNE SYSTEM
Sleeping is when your body attempts to repair the damage. It is also when our body strengthens its immunity defenses against bacteria and other pathogens. When we are not sleeping at night, surges of stress hormones impairs several body functions including the immune system.
LIFESTYLE DISEASES
Lack of sleep has been linked to many illnesses. When you are not sleeping at night, your stress hormones are surging up. You’ll have this increased feeling of alertness which can cause your blood pressure to go up. In turn, high blood pressure may lead to other diseases such as heart ailments, heart attack, and stroke.
You also become at risk for diabetes and cancer. So if you want to stay away from these diseases, make sure you get enough sleep along with proper diet and exercise.
WEIGHT CHANGES
Another effect of sleep is craving. Unfortunately, sleep deprivation makes us crave for unhealthy foods. This, in turn, can cause weight gain. And along weight gain are lifestyle diseases such as heart problems, cancer, and diabetes.
It is easy to make up reasons for not sleeping. It may be an internet game, social media, too busy at work etc. But keep in mind, all these things cannot help us when we already suffer from the consequences of sleep deprivation. Know your limits. Work on time, but also, rest on time.