July 17

The 4 main consequences of sleep deprivation

We know that sleeping well is important, but… do we really know the consequences that lack of sleep can have on our health and our lives?

Sleeping well means first of all sleeping the right amount of time, between 7 and 9 hours, and sleeping continuously and deeply. Frequent awakenings during sleep and light sleep are signs that we are not sleeping or resting properly. And  waking up with the feeling of not having rested is undoubtedly very detrimental to our health in the short and long term. 

And the fact is that sleep is basic for human beings, it is basic to live, as much as eating or breathing. As many doctors have already pointed out, we should consider our sleep as important an aspect of our life as our diet or our physical activity. 

Some of the main consequences of lack of sleep are: 

Fatigue and concentration 

When we do not sleep well, the most immediate consequence is to be tired the next day. Fatigue makes it difficult to concentrate and reduces our attention span. 
When we are sleep deprived our mind does not function as usual. In fact, our short-term memory worsens and our motor skills deteriorate, making it more difficult for us to concentrate on the daily activities of our daily lives.   

Health problems 

Lack of sleep is directly associated with numerous health problems. Our body needs to rest and replenish itself, and when it doesn’t, it doesn’t function properly. 

As a general rule, when our body lacks rest, our immune system is weakened and this makes us more exposed to certain diseases and infections. The most common way in which this manifests itself is the ease with which sleep-deprived people catch colds.

Diabetes is one of the main health problems associated with lack of sleep. This is because lack of sleep leads to lower insulin sensitivity, which is conducive to the development of type II diabetes in particular.  

Increased hypertension, clogged arteries and heart problems are also some of the health problems most related to lack of sleep. 

Bad mood

Our mood is one of the aspects most affected by lack of sleep. The quantity and quality of our sleep largely determines our mood, so when we lack sleep we are more or less prone to different moods.

As a general rule, when we are sleep deprived we are more prone to sadness, irritability, anxiety and even depression.

When our brain is active, it does not rest and does not replenish itself. The parts of our brain that regulate emotions are also active and do not rest, which causes us to make decisions that are more uncontrolled than premeditated. 

Irritability is also one of the most common problems. Our body feels heavy and that makes our mood heavy. 

Poor nutrition

It is common knowledge that poor sleep leads to poor nutrition. Lack of sleep causes the desire to eat unhealthy foods, often precooked, high in carbohydrates and high in unhealthy fats.

In addition, due to lack of sleep, on numerous occasions we do not eat out of hunger, but out of anxiety. This translates directly into weight gain, which can lead to health problems such as obesity

Sleep is basic to regulate our metabolism, therefore if it is not taken care of we increase the risk of obesity.

In Dupen our priority is to take care of your rest, that’s why we take care of all the factors that have to do with it.

We always recommend healthy lifestyle habits and sleep routines that improve the quality of life of our clients, because we know that lack of sleep is a serious problem. We recommend that you adopt healthy lifestyle habits and, in severe cases, that you contact your physician. 

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