Is poor sleep depriving your body ?
Of course it is ! It drains both your physical and mental abilities . Studies have linked poor slumber habits with just about everything from weight gain to a weakened immune system.
So you’ve spent the night tossing and turning, you already know how you’ll feel the next day, basically … tired, cranky, and in a funk. But missing out on doctor recommended 8 hrs of sleep does more than make you feel groggy and act like a grump.
You must realize that long-term effects of sleep deprivation are very real.
Sleep deprivation is caused by consistent lack of sleep or reduced quality of sleep. Getting less than six hours of sleep on a regular basis can eventually lead to health consequences that affect your entire body. This may also be caused by an underlying sleep disorder.
Your body needs sleep in just as much as it needs air and food to function 100% . With a good nights sleep your body heals itself and restores its chemical balance. Your brain forges new thought connections and helps memory retention. Ask anyone studying for exams .
Without enough sleep, your brain and body systems will not function properly. It can also seriously lower your quality of life increases the risk of premature death.
Signs of sleep deprivation are pretty obvious to most adults . No need to list them.
Stimulants, such as coffee aren’t enough to kick start your body’s profound need for sleep. In fact, these can make sleep deprivation worse by making it harder to fall asleep at night.
This, in turn, may lead to a cycle of night time insomnia followed by daytime caffeine consumption to combat the tiredness caused by the lost hours of shut-eye.
Behind the scenes, chronic sleep deprivation can interfere with your body’s internal systems and cause more than just the initial signs and symptoms listed above.
Central nervous system
Your central nervous system is the main information highway of your body. Sleep is necessary to keep it functioning properly, but chronic insomnia can disrupt how your body usually sends and processes information.
During sleep, pathways form between nerve cells in your brain that help you remember new information you’ve learned. Sleep deprivation leaves your brain exhausted, so it can’t perform its duties as well.
You may also find it more difficult to concentrate or learn new things. The signals your body sends may also be delayed, decreasing your coordination and increasing your risk for accidents.
Sleep deprivation also negatively affects your mental abilities and emotional state. You may feel more impatient or prone to mood swings . This can compromise decision-making processes and creativity.
If sleep deprivation continues long enough, you could start having hallucinations — seeing or hearing things that aren’t really there. A lack of sleep can also trigger maniain people who have bipolar mood disorder. Other psychological risks include:
- impulsive behaviour
- anxiety
- depression
- paranoia
- suicidal thoughts
You may also end up experiencing micro sleep during the day. During these episodes, you’ll fall asleep for a few to several seconds without realizing it.
Micro sleep is out of your control and can be extremely dangerous if you’re driving. It can also make you more prone to injury if you operate heavy machinery at work and have a micro sleep episode.
Immune system
While you sleep, your immunize system produces protective, infection-fighting substances like antibodies and cytokines. It uses these substances to combat foreign invaders such as bacteria and viruses.
Certain cytokines also help you to sleep, giving your immune system more efficiency to defend your body against illness such variant of the recent C 19 virus.
Sleep deprivation prevents your immune system from building up its forces. If you don’t get enough sleep, your body may not be able to fend off invaders, and it may also take you longer to recover from illness.
Long-term sleep deprivation also increases your risk for chronic conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease.
Respiratory system
The relationship between sleep and the respiratory system goes both ways. A night time breathing disorder can interrupt your sleep and lower sleep quality.
As you wake up throughout the night, this can cause sleep deprivation, which leaves you more vulnerable to respiratory infections like the common cold and flu. Sleep deprivation can also make existing respiratory diseases worse, such as chronic lung.
Digestive system
Along with eating too much and not exercising, sleep deprivation is another risk factor for becoming overweight and obese. Sleep affects the levels of several hormones, which control feelings of hunger and fullness.
Leptin tells your brain that you’ve had enough to eat. Without enough sleep, your brain reduces leptin and raises an appetite stimulant. The influx of these hormones could explain night time snacking or why someone may overeat later in the night.
A lack of sleep can also make you feel too tired to exercise. Over time, reduced physical activity can make you gain weight because you’re not burning enough calories and not building muscle mass.
Sleep deprivation also causes your body to release less insulin after you eat. Insulin helps to reduce your blood sugar (glucose) level.
Sleep deprivation also lowers the body’s tolerance for glucose and is associated with insulin resistance. These disruptions can lead to diabetes mellitus and obesity.
Sleep affects processes that keep your heart and blood vessels healthy, including those that affect your blood sugar, blood pressure and inflammation levels. It also plays a vital role in your body’s ability to heal and repair the blood vessels and heart.
People who don’t sleep enough are more likely to get cardiovascular disease. One study linked insomnia to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
Endocrine system
Hormone production is dependent on your sleep. For testosterone production, you need at least 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep, which is about the time of your first R.E.M. episode. Waking up throughout the night could affect hormone production.
This interruption can also affect growth hormone production, especially in children and adolescents. These hormones help the body build muscle mass and repair cells and tissues, in addition to other growth functions.
The pituitary gland releases growth hormone throughout each day, but adequate sleep and exercise also help the release of this hormone.
Treatment for sleep deprivation
The most basic form of sleep deprivation treatment is getting a reasonable amount of sleep typically 7 to 9 hours each night.
This is often easier said than done, especially if you’ve been deprived of precious shut-eye for several weeks or longer. After this point, you may need help from your doctor or a sleep specialist who, if needed, can diagnose and treat a possible sleep disorder.
Sleep disorders may make it difficult to get quality sleep at night. They may also increase your risk for the above effects of sleep deprivation on the body.
The following are some of the most common types of sleep disorders:
- obstructive sleep apnea
- narcolepsy
- restless leg syndrome
- insomnia
- circadian rhythm disorders
To diagnose these conditions, your doctor may order a sleep study. This is traditionally conducted at a formal sleep centre, but now there are options to measure your sleep quality at home, too.
If you’re diagnosed with a sleep disorder, you may be given medication or a device to keep your airway open at night (in the case of obstructive sleep apnea) to help combat the disorder so you can get a better night’s sleep on a regular basis.
Prevention
The best way to prevent sleep deprivation is to make sure you get adequate sleep. Follow the recommended guidelines for your age group, which is 7 to 9 hours for most adults ages 18 to 50. The older you get the less sleep you really need as your bones are not growing .
Other ways you can get back on track with a healthy sleep schedule include:
- limit alcohol consumption ( that glass of wine is not really helping)
- refraining from coffee / tea past noon
- going to bed at the same time each night
- waking up at the same time every morning, no sleeping in till noon
- try sticking to your bedtime schedule during weekends and holidays
- spending an hr before bed doing relaxing activities, such as reading, meditating, or take a bath
- have a healthy sex life
- avoid heavy evening meals
- refraining from surfing the net on your phone right before bed
- exercise regularly, but not in the evening hours close to bedtime
If you continue to have problems sleeping at night and are fighting daytime fatigue, talk to your doctor. They can test for underlying health conditions that might be getting in the way of your sleep schedule.
*How do you get to sleep in 2 mins ?
So this is where the so called ‘military method’ comes in. It’s an old hack that’s been tried and tested by the US army who say it does the job in just *two* minutes. The technique is explained in a 1981 book called Relax and Win: Championship Performance, and it explains the method was developed by army chiefs to address the issue of soldiers getting too tired or exhausted. The stakes in this situation are obviously very high. They were taught to sleep anywhere anytime.
- Relax your face muscles, tongue, jaw and the muscles around the eyes
- Lower your shoulders as far down as they’ll go, then do the same with your upper and lower arm, one side at a time
- Exhale, relaxing your chest then move down to your legs, starting from the thighs
Apparently, after six solid weeks of practice this will work for 96% of people who try the technique.
This information has been provided by Organic Sulfur OS . When taking Organic Sulfur avoid before bed as your energy levels will be higher because of it. Organic Sulfur repairs your body during the day and sleep works during the night shift. Now enjoy your sleep because it’s like a time machine to breakfast !