Pitfalls Of Poor Sleep

Depriving yourself of sleep is not good for you. Not only will you feel fuzzier and more irritable, your performance and productivity will suffer. It’s all very well to joke that you can sleep when you’re dead, but a lack of shuteye can really affect your health.

Certainly, the odd late night is necessary to stay on top of work and life sometimes, but if you regularly have to forgo sleep to keep up with your to-do list, you may need to review that list. Sleep deprivation affects your mood, ability to focus, emotional intelligence and higher-level brain function, sometimes for days. Sleep researchers have actually proven that the negative effects of sleep deprivation can mean that drunk people outperform those who are lacking sleep.

When you sleep, your brain removes toxic proteins from its neurons that are by-products of neural activity during waking ours. Your brain can only remove them effectively while you’re asleep. So, when you don’t get enough sleep, these toxins  remain in your brain cells, impairing your ability to think – extra cups of coffee can’t fix that!

Sleep deprivation slows your ability to process information, problem solve and think creatively.  It also makes you more prone to stress and less emotionally stable.

Your health can be affected by long term tiredness – the incidence of heart attack, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and obesity all increase in those who don’t sleep enough. This is because your body produces excess cortisol (the stress hormone) when it’s sleep deprived. In men, not sleeping enough reduces testosterone levels and lowers sperm count. Excess cortisol wreaks havoc on your immune system and breaks down collagen, the protein that keeps skin smooth and elastic.

Sleep deprivation can also be the enemy of your waistline – your body’s ability can’t metabolise carbohydrates as well when it’s tired and you are more likely to suffer food cravings and overeat.

Most people need seven to nine hours of sleep a night to feel sufficiently rested. If you tell yourself that you have to burn the candle at both ends, or that you only need a few hours’ shut-eye and can still perform well, you are probably kidding yourself.

We all have talents and innate abilities, but we are still human and need to take care of ourselves. Make good quality, regular sleep part a high priority – your mood, health and performance will all be improved if you do!