How Does A Lack Of Sleep Affect You?

The simple answer is that scientists really don’t know yet. However, a lot of little pieces of research are coming together to start to paint a picture. We can now have a good guess as to what is going on.

Think about the last time that you did an all nighter. How did you feel, physically, the next day? The usual answer is that you felt extremely tired, and that your heart felt as if it was beating faster than usual. You probably ate and drank more as a result of feeling ‘not all there’, hoping for anything that could potentially help you stay awake and allow you to focus.

Your body needs sleep to ‘consolidate’ itself. That means that hundreds of things are ‘reset’ when you sleep. Hormone levels are brought back into balance. Tissues are regenerated and the memories from the events of the day are analyzed and stored or discarded as we dream. A lack of sleep means that none of these things can happen efficiently.

More stress hormones are released into the blood stream if there is not enough sleep, and these can negatively affect blood vessel function. This may be what gives us that nervous, edgy feeling when we have not slept.

Another reason why some people do not sleep well is if they have sleep apnea. This is a condition in which the airways collapse during sleep, causing the sufferer to temporarily stop breathing and have to gasp for air. Sleep apnea is more common in obese people. It can happen in heavy snorers too.

This condition can cause the heart beat to race along to try and distribute enough oxygen around the system and raise blood pressure. So instead of restful sleep, the opposite occurs and the sufferer feels like they have run a 100m sprint at night.

What to Do If You Are Worried About Sleeping Less Than You Should

If you are worried with insomnia or think that you may have sleep apnea then there are many treatments available to help. Go along to see your doctor who will try to diagnose the problem.

To get a better quality of sleep the following advice might be helpful:

• Try to maintain a healthy weight as overweight people are more likely to have a problem with their airways at night.
• Do not drink any caffeine-heavy drinks late at night as they will stimulate you to keep you awake.
• Similarly, do not eat a heavy meal too late at night.
• Have a warm, milky drink.
• Take a relaxing bath.
• Set yourself up with a pampering and relaxing night-time routine and stick to it.
• In the same way, make your own bedroom a calm and relaxing place which is free from electronic gadgets and too much to stimulate you at night.

I don’t know how a night’s sleep would make you wealthy, but they do say, that ‘early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy…’ Perhaps there is a little truth in that old wives’ tale after all.