Lack of sleep, Sleep deprivation

Lack of sleep : Reasons why it is so harmful

Prolonged lack of sleep takes a heavy toll on your body, both physically and mentally. Through this article, I’ll attempt to draw light on some of the hazards that sleep deprivation, prolonged or otherwise, brings with itself, either directly or indirectly.

By:Arko De

Mental Health

You’ve an exam in a few days.
You’ve studied nothing but want to pass the exam somehow.

The solution is simple. Take out your books and start burning the midnight oil, maybe even study through the night. Surely, you’ll have studied enough to pass the exam with that much dedication, no?

Maybe, maybe not. But the long prolonged sleep deprivation / Lack of sleep will definitely take a heavy toll on your body, both physically and mentally. Through this article, I’ll attempt to draw light on some of the hazards that sleep deprivation, prolonged or otherwise, brings with itself, either directly or indirectly.


Accidents
Sleep deprivation/ Lack of sleep played a role in some of the worst disasters in human history viz., the 1979 nuclear accident at the Three Mile Island, USA, the Chernobyl disaster, the Exxon Valdez Oil spill, etc. Countless road accidents happen due to lack of requisite REM(Rapid Eye Movement) sleep due to the inhibition of the brain’s cognitive functions.

Weight gain
Studies have shown that people who sleep less than six hours are 30 per cent more likely to develop obesity than those getting seven or more hours of sleep per night. The reason for the same might be due to the increase in hunger/appetite due to deprivation. There is also a more complex biochemical explanation for the weight gain which is beyond the scope of this article.

Serious health afflictions
Loss of proper sleep hours can result in serious health issues like - heart diseases, heart attacks, heart failure, arrhythmia(irregular rhythm of the heart), hypertension, stroke, increased blood pressure, and diabetes. Do yourself a favour and get in your proper sleep hours, i.e, 8 hours per night.

Cognitive skills
Sleep deprivation causes adverse effects on the brain’s processing abilities. Both short term as well as long term memory might be affected in addition to clouding of proper judgement and decision making skills.

Accelerated skin ageing
“I need to to get my beauty sleep.” The fairly common dialogue in movies and TV has a deep rooted scientific basis. Research has shown that sleep deprivation can lead to accelerated skin ageing due to enhanced glucocorticoid production, especially cortisol. Other than that, lack of proper sleep also leads to the malfunctioning of the immune system which can lead to skin breakouts and eczema. If you don’t want to be called “older than you look”, get in your beauty sleep - for it is not only necessary but also irreplaceable.


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