Sleeping is a part of life with which everyone is familiar. After a long day of work and play, people lay their heads onto their pillows in hopes of a restful night. However, some wind up tossing and turning all night while others wake up only a few short hours after lying down. Coffee, sodas and other caffeine laden products may help them to get through the day, but this lack of sleep is not good. How does not sleeping enough adversely affect peoples’ well being?
Tired and Sluggish
One of the most obvious answers to the question posed above is that people will be exhausted throughout the day. According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleep occurs in REM and non REM cycles throughout the night. Each of these cycles has a role. For example, during stages 3 and 4, energy is brought back to the body, tissues are restored and hormones necessary for growth and development are released (Sleep Foundation. When sleep ends too hastily, the body cannot perform all of these activities and becomes weakened as a result. Coffee and the rest can only do so much. At work, people may find that they cannot focus on tasks properly, and students could wind up falling asleep at their desks. If the problem continues, employees could be fired and students could fail their classes, all due to lack of sleep. Furthermore, when people are not focused, they could injure themselves at work if physical labor is involved in their jobs.
Headaches
Another common problem associated with a lack of sleep is a mind numbing headache. Headaches, of course, cause discomfort, but they can also interfere with a person’s ability to perform daily tasks. Headaches may also make the individual sensitive to light, preventing him or her from going into a brightly lit office or out in the sun. When people have headaches, they generally take medication to feel better, and the over usage of medication is not helpful or healthy for anyone.
Processing Information
Marshfield Clinic’s article “How Lack of Sleep Affects You” (Marshfield Clinic.) states that when children do not get enough sleep, they are not able to process information as well as they could have after a full night of sleep. As a result, their ability to understand school lessons suffers. The article also informs readers that ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) can sometimes be linked to a lack of sleep.
Medical Issues
The professional who speaks in Marshfield Clinic’s article, Dr. Boero who is a sleep specialist at Marshfield Clinic Neurosciences, discusses the main diseases that ailments that can result from a lack of sleep. She says that heart disease, obesity, stroke, diabetes and hypertension can all occur from not getting enough sleep. This information is truly alarming. These are not just headaches that go away in a few hours; these are diseases that can kill at a moment’s notice.
Depression
Jonatthan Pitts wrote an article entitled “Lack of Sleep Side Effects” for Health Guidance Health Guidance). In this, he writes that people can also become depressed as a result of not getting enough sleep. Pitts goes on to explain that depression can quickly turn into suicidal thoughts, and it must be treated immediately. Once again, it is clear that not getting enough sleep can truly become a deadly problem.
Other Side Effects
Pitts explains some other problems that can result from not getting enough sleep. People can be dizzy, nauseous and have blurred vision. What if these symptoms manifest while driving? Disaster can strike. Lack of sleep can also cause people to have reduced abilities to fight off diseases.
Clearly, not getting enough sleep comes with a whole myriad of problems. Of course, everyone has a restless night every once in awhile. However, when people are not sleeping enough on a regular basis, it is important to consult a doctor before the problem becomes very serious.
Byline
This article was written by Karl Stockton for the team at Medical coding and billing certification.