We all know how important sleep is to our body and what a lack of it can cause. Though a lot of people lack quality sleep not by their own doing but due to the nature of their job.
Many live their lives in rush hours and have just very little sleep without knowing.
I’m sure you must have heard the saying that “you can’t cheat nature”? There are signs your body lets out when it isn’t having enough rest.
1. DROWSINESS DURING THE DAY
When you continually feel drowsy during the day then it’s obvious that you haven’t been getting enough sleep. Yawning and dozing off every now and then during the day shouldn’t be taken as normal — it’s your body’s way of telling you it needs sleep.
2. POOR MEMORY
Studies have shown that you need REM sleep to help your brain process information it gathered during the day. REM sleep, which is also known as dream sleep is characterised by rapid eye movement during sleep, hence the name REM.
You enter this stage of sleep after about 70 to 90 minutes of falling asleep. This sleep cycle helps in consolidating memories in the mind. Not having this stage of deep sleep can result in you having poor memory, showing that you need sleep.
3. POOR JUDGEMENT
It isn’t just your memory that’s affected by a lack of sleep, but your judgement as well.
The ability to accurately make good and sound decisions depends heavily on the brain’s capacity to process emotions.
According to William Killgore, a Harvard Medical School sleep researcher, the region of the brain known as the prefrontal cortex which is responsible for processing emotions “goes to sleep” thereby worsening your judgement.
4. POOR SEX DRIVE
Your sex drive is another thing that hits a snag when you are sleep deprived. Sleep deprivation is a major reason why your partner is hardly ever in the mood for sex. Women involved in caring for children or ageing parents are the one’s most affected by sleep deprivation, as they constantly report of being too exhausted for intimacy.
5. YOUR PRODUCTIVITY IS AFFECTED
This is one major sign of sleep deprivation. A lot of employees productivity level suffer at work because they are sleep deprived. Your brain’s prefrontal cortex suffers when it’s deprived of sleep, affecting your judgement, your decision-making ability, your reasoning, alertness and even concentration level, thereby affecting your productivity level.
6. YOUR MOOD SUFFERS
Sleep deprivation can also lead to poor mood and depression. According to researchers from University of Pennsylvania, participants who were subjected to 4.5 hours of sleep a night for one week reported being more stressed, angry, sad and mentally exhausted. However, their moods were given a huge boost once they have had enough sleep.
7. WEIGHT GAIN
Research has found that people who sleep fewer than six hours at night are most likely to be overweight. The appetite suppressing hormone, leptin, is suppressed when deprived of sleep, while the hunger stimulating hormone, ghrelin, is elevated when sleep deprived, causing you to eat much.
8. YOU LOOK LESS ATTRACTIVE
Sleep deprivation can also lead to you looking less attractive. It’s obvious when someone has had little sleep at night; red, puffy eyes and dark circles show on the face when sleep deprived, making one look less attractive than their usual self.
9. POOR VISION
When sleep deprived, even your sight could become affected. If you have problems focusing or feel hazy then it’s another sign that you are sleep deprived. This has led to falls and accidents during jobs.
Sleep deprivation is bad for your health and would definitely affect your performance at work.
Without enough hours of sleep, you won’t be able to work, learn, create, and communicate at a level even close to your true potential.
Researchers from University of California found that although some people have the genes that would make them do well on six hours of sleep a night, such gene is however rare. The researchers revealed that 7.5 to 9 hours of sleep is the recommended sleep duration for adults every night.
S.O.Z