Many people find that there are not enough hours in the day to complete all the tasks you have on your never ending to-do list. In order to get things done many people make the choice to cut corners of sleep, thinking that a few hours here and there won’t make a big difference. Wrong! Sleep deprivation can have effects on both your mental and physical health.
Here are 8 ways that not getting enough sleep can negatively effect you:
Lower stress threshold. When your tired, the simplest activity can make you feel overwhelmed.
Impaired memory. Rapid eye movement(REM) sleep aids in the formation of memories.
Trouble concentrating. Sleep deprived people have a hard time focusing on tasks and they often overestimate their performance.
Decreased sociability and optimism. Lets face it, who wants to be friendly and optimistic when they’re tired? Nobody.
Impaired creativity. Research shows that sleep deprivation impairs some cognitive processes like creativity.
Increased blood pressure. Studies show that loss of sleep can lead to an increase blood pressure.
Increase in appetite. Acute sleep loss enhances pleasure response processing in the brain underlying the drive to consume food.
Increased risk of cardiac morbidity. Sleep deprivation is one of the factors that can lead to an increased risk of heart attacks.
If you are chronically tired or if you think carving off a couple hours of sleep here and there is okay then it may be time to change your thinking about sleep. You may not be aware of what your brain and body are doing during sleep, but that time is vital to your ability to function and potentially to your life. If you find yourself with a low stress threshold or your memory,creativity, and/or appetite is impaired then you may need to seek professional help from a counselor. The therapists at Star Point Counseling Center can help you get your schedule back on track.
Comments