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VERIFIED CONTENTAuthor: lek. Tomasz Nęcki

There is probably no need to convince anyone that insufficient sleep leads to some unpleasant consequences - after a sleepless night, people feel tired or have problems with focusing on their daily duties. When we do not get enough sleep, there are many more threats - lack of sleep can have an extremely negative impact on the human body.

Today, more and more people complain about sleep problems. Their causes vary - one of the main ones is stress experienced every day, however, some inappropriate behavior of patients can lead to sleep disturbances, such as eating heavy meals in the evening or undertaking intense physical activity immediately before going to sleep.

People who do not get enough sleep are well aware of the possible consequences - they may feel tired or less fit at work after they do not sleep enough hours a day. However, the feeling of fatigue itself is not the most dangerous consequence of a lack of sleep - people who sleep very briefly, even due to the multitude of professional duties, after some time may begin to struggle with many different he alth problems, some of which may even be very surprising.

Lack of sleep, memory and concentration

During the night rest, many important processes take place - some of them concern the functioning of the nervous system. During the night, there are to the formation of connections between nerve cells, thanks to which people are able to remember new things as well as remember things they have already remembered. Ultimately, one of the possible consequences of not getting enough sleep may be memory and concentration disorders. Contrary to all appearances, the problem is not trivial at all - when someone does not sleep regularly, he or she may have such a deteriorated concentration that it is possible, for example, to cause a car accident.

Lack of sleep and mood swings

Sleep problems can undoubtedly affect people's mood. Patients who do not get enough sleep may struggle with irritability, anxiety, but also with depressed mood. In order to emphasize even more clearly the relationship betweensleep and mood, it can be mentioned that sleep deprivation in people who have bipolar disorder (BD) can lead to a manic episode.

Lack of sleep and weight gain

Just as it can be difficult for some people to link sleep deprivation and the risk of weight gain, there is a correlation between the two problems. The reason for its existence is that during the night hormones are secreted, which are responsible for regulating people's feeling of hunger and satiety. These hormones are ghrelin and leptin.

The first of these substances is responsible for feeling, and the second for suppressing the feeling of hunger. People who sleep insufficiently hours may experience increased ghrelin release and decreased leptin release, resulting in increased appetite and ultimately weight gain.

People who sleep too shortly during the day are tired - this is obviously a truism, but fatigue can also be responsible for weight gain in people who stay awake for the right amount of hours. When a person lacks energy, he rarely wants to be physically active - also for this reason, lack of sleep can lead to weight gain.

Lack of sleep, hypertension and heart disease

Lack of sleep may negatively affect the functioning of many organ systems, including the circulatory system. People who sleep too shortly have an increased risk of high blood pressure. It is also pointed out that insomnia is conducive to serious cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attack or stroke. Their increased risk may result, inter alia, from from the fact that the consequence of insomnia is the increased production of inflammatory mediators, which are important in the pathogenesis of the above-mentioned diseases.

Lack of sleep and weakened immunity

At night, not only the nervous system regenerates, but also the immune system. It is at night time that the production of important substances such as cytokines or antibodies that have the ability to neutralize various microorganisms, takes place. Ultimately, people who sleep too short may have immunosuppressed and more likely to contract infections.

Lack of sleep and carbohydrate disorders

Too few hours of sleep have a negative effect on the brain and heart, but also on the pancreas. This authority is extremely important due to the fact that it is responsible, inter alia, for the secretion of glucose-regulating insulin in the blood. When a person sleeps too short, secretion may be disturbed, which in turn have very serious consequences - one of thethe most serious is an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

Lack of sleep and decreased libido

People who sleep too shortly may have some problems in their relationships and this may result not only from the fact that they feel constantly tired or struggle with increased irritability. Lack of sleep can lead to a decrease in libido as well as erectile dysfunction or premature ejaculation. The cause of the problem may be disorders of the endocrine system - in the case of not getting enough sleep, it may, among others, to a decrease in testosterone production in men.

Lack of sleep and coordination disorders

Underestimating the need to sleep enough hours during the night can result in very different consequences - one of the possible consequences is an increased risk of falls. They may be caused by the fact that, due to insomnia, patients may experience disorders of psychomotor coordination. The problem is especially dangerous in the case of elderly people, in whom even seemingly minor falls can result in complicated fractures that require many months of treatment.

Lack of sleep: what to do to sleep well and wake up refreshed?

Taking into account all the above information, it is quite clear that people who do not get enough sleep should definitely not underestimate their problem. Sometimes an improvement in the quality of sleep can be achieved by really modifying everyday behavior - it may be enough to eat dinner earlier than usual, shift your training from evening to afternoon hours, or read a book instead of watching an emotional horror movie late in the day.

Sometimes, however, certain he alth problems are responsible for sleep problems - insomnia can be a disease in itself, and it can be a symptom of certain mental disorders or diseases such as thyroid dysfunction. For this reason, when the patient has made efforts to observe the rules of sleep hygiene, and yet the quality of his night rest is still not adequate, he has no choice but to consult a doctor.

ExpertBow. Tomasz NęckiA graduate of the medical faculty at the Medical University of Poznań. An admirer of the Polish sea (most willingly strolling along its shores with headphones in his ears), cats and books. In working with patients, he focuses on always listening to them and spending as much time as they need.

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Category:

Psychology