Negative effects of sleep deprivation

The human body requires a certain amount of rest, on a daily basis and while there are case studies of individuals who have led long and healthy lives despite just three or four hours of sleep a day, these people are the exception and not the norm. The common consensus among most medical professionals is that your body requires seven to eight hours of sleep on a daily basis just so that it can continue to function normally. For example, if you had not been able to get enough sleep yesterday, then chances are that you will feel cranky, moody and unable to concentrate. These are just some of the side effects of sleep deprivation, which incidentally happens to be for real. This is why you need to take a closer look at the same.

Negative effects of sleep deprivation:

• Immune system: Let’s start with the most important one; as a result of sleep deprivation, your immune system becomes weak and compromised. As a result, you become more liable to get infected by common viruses like cold and flu; you will also be at high risk to infection by more dangerous viruses. This is why it is essential for your well being to get the required amount of sleep daily.
• High blood pressure: Since you sleep for less than five hours a day your body becomes stressed and will not function at optimal levels. Worse, your blood pressure will be off the scales; your blood pressure will shoot up. Until you take effective measures which include a lot of sleep, your blood pressure will remain high and it may even turn out to be a chronic condition.
• Mood changes: Sleep deprivation affects various parts of your brain including the emotional center of your brain. As a result, you would be more prone to mood swings, sudden feelings of anxiety along with episodes of anger and rage for no reason at all. You may also experience bouts of depression and melancholia.
• Memory: It is a fact that the human brain processes information while the subject is asleep; this accounts for the various dreams you get, in the REM phase. A failure to achieve REM sleep can have a direct impact on your memory as your brain does not have enough time to process information and form memories. As a result, you may face memory issues, both short-term ones and long-term ones as well
• Cognitive functioning: As a result of lack of adequate sleep, your cognitive functioning is bound to be impacted; you may take longer to resolve simple tasks and may even find the simplest of them to be confounding.

The above symptoms are as a result of sleep deprivation; if you experience any of the above symptoms or all of the above, then you need to consult a doctor right away. It is essential that you do so right away but the best cure may just be a cup of hot cocoa, warm biscuits, a glass of water and soft comfy bed for eight hours of sleep.