We all know that a lack of sleep is a common occurrence today. What we may not know is the toll that reduced sleep has on the body and its systems. In fact our perpetual shortage of rest is doing much more harm than we realize.
The effect of lack of sleep on the body is often more problematic than just not feeling well rested the next day. There can be serious health issues that result from not getting proper rest. Certainly, the most obvious side effect of a lack of sleep is reduced energy the next day. However, it is more than just feeling less than our best...the body actually performs less efficiently when we're tired. Performance, productivity, memory, etc. are all reduced when our body is running on less sleep than we need.
The body also needs rest to repair tissue, cope with stress and recharge the immune system. A lack of sleep hampers these functions in the body. The ability to handle stress and fight off illness is short circuited when we fail to get enough sleep. The body's response system to germs and stressors slows down and has a difficult time meeting the challenge of even every day issues. This is becoming increasingly problematic in a world where we seem to be under increasing stress levels in our daily lives and where germs are mutating into stronger, hardier forms. When we get sick it is often for longer periods of time as the body has a harder time catching up when we've drained it with reduced sleep.
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Neurotransmitter issues are an effect of lack of sleep on the brain as well. Mental health can be impacted when we don't get our rest. Aside from increased stress and a reduced ability to cope as mentioned earlier, the brain can suffer other imbalances such as depression, irritability, anxiety, etc. as the chemicals and processes in the brain get out of balance from lack of sleep. Unfortunately, this can become a vicious cycle as increased stress and/or depression can cause insomnia thereby pushing the body further into a deficit of sleep.
This issue of sleeplessness is not a minor occurrence in our society either. The figures for sleep deprivation's effect on the economy in America alone is $45 BILLION a year according to one article from a psychiatric website I visited. These costs come from lost productivity, health care bills due to increased illness and expenses related to traffic accidents. That puts the cost of sleeplessness on par with stroke or depression. Something to consider when trying to brush off those lost hours every week.
Many people could get the sleep they need but don't as a result of lifestyle choices. They work to many hours, stay up too late at night, etc. Other unfortunately have trouble sleeping as a result of stress or other issues. If your is due to stress, insomnia, etc. then you may need to seek the help of a medical professional familiar with sleep issues. Be careful though, as the knee jerk reaction of many in the medical community is to prescribe drugs. These can have serious side effects and be addictive so discuss them carefully. You may be better off with some lifestyle changes and perhaps some dietary supplements that use natural ingredients to help you sleep without many of the problems that drugs contain. Make sure you talk about all these things with your doctor. Above all though...make sure you get the sleep you need. The price for not doing so is much higher than we often think.
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