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Constant lack of sleep consequences. The dangers of lack of sleep: what happens if you don’t sleep enough

With the modern pace of life, adequate sleep for some people turns from a daily ritual into an unattainable dream. Constantly waking up to the alarm clock and going to rest late at night leads to the development of chronic lack of sleep. For some, this lifestyle is a necessity, while others reduce the total duration of sleep to please their hobbies. In both cases, lack of sleep is very dangerous to health and can lead to the development of serious diseases.

Definition

Chronic sleep deprivation is understood as a condition in which a person finds himself due to a systematic lack of sleep or poor quality of rest. First, there is a decrease in activity and severe fatigue. At the next stage of development of the disease comes constant irritability and pain. If insomnia persists for more than six months, chronic diseases worsen, general health deteriorates, productivity drops, reducing the quality of life.

Ignoring the problem for a long period of time leads to a decrease in immunity and disruption of the functions of various body systems. At the first signs of chronic sleep deprivation, it is necessary to find and eliminate the causes of this phenomenon.

Reasons

Traditionally, the main cause of lack of sleep is considered to be an overly active lifestyle. In fact, the inability to manage time leads to constant fatigue. A person tries to perform a large amount of work every day, although he should divide his responsibilities by day and pay attention to all aspects of life. In addition, lack of rest develops due to a number of other reasons.

Nervous system diseases

An overexcited state of the central nervous system, resulting from psychological or physiological disorders, leads to increased activity and inability to sleep. Even if a person manages to go to bed, his rest will be superficial and of poor quality.

Poor nutrition

Timely intake of the right food has a positive effect on all body systems. If dinner takes place later than 4 hours before bedtime and contains difficult-to-digest foods, it will not be easy to fall asleep. The situation is aggravated by the fact that in many homes it is customary to wash down any meal with tea or coffee containing a large amount of caffeine, which completely “drives away” sleep.

Child syndrome

Probably, every parent has at least once noticed a failure of the child’s biological clock, when increased sleepiness during the day interferes with active games, and at night the baby has difficulty falling asleep. The same can happen to an adult.

Bad habits

Drinking alcohol, drugs and smoking have a stimulating effect on the nervous system. Because of this, sleep does not come for a long time. Although there are cases when, in a state of strong alcoholic intoxication, a person quickly falls asleep, his sleep is superficial and intermittent.

Discomfort

It can be caused by an incorrect microclimate, some diseases, lack of space, an uncomfortable bed and other reasons. All this negatively affects the speed of falling asleep and the quality of rest.

That is, there are many reasons for the development of lack of sleep. The fight against the disease necessarily includes finding and getting rid of the source of poor sleep, and not just treating the symptoms.

Features of lack of sleep in representatives of different sexes

The causes of sleep disturbance in men and women are usually different, as is the mechanism of the disease itself. Representatives of the fairer sex are more susceptible emotionally, so their lack of sleep is often associated with some kind of psychological problems. Typically, this ailment is characterized by a protracted course and complex treatment.

Men suffer from lack of sleep most often due to some external problems, for example, difficulties at work or sudden changes in life. Interestingly, when a child appears in the home, it is usually the father who develops sleep deprivation. The mother soon emotionally detaches herself from the difficulties associated with the baby and adjusts her daily routine to the child’s routine.

Symptoms

Signs of lack of sleep are obvious

Lack of sleep is accompanied by redness of the eyeballs, swelling of the eyelids, and blue circles under the eyes. Painful pallor and sloppy appearance are sure companions of lack of sleep.

From the nervous system

A person needs proper rest, since it is in the deep phase that all body systems, including the nervous one, are restored. If the quality of sleep is low, a slow reaction, increased irritability, impulsive actions, and aggression will soon make themselves felt.

Other symptoms

One of the first signs of a malfunction of the gastrointestinal tract is nausea from lack of sleep, which appears already on the 2-3rd day of lack of rest. Further, immunity decreases, vision deteriorates, and chronic diseases worsen. More than 80% of patients with insufficient sleep experience uncontrolled weight gain and premature aging.

If any symptoms are detected, you must begin self-treatment or consult a doctor.

Psychological consequences

From a psychological point of view, an unkempt appearance and constant drowsiness are not the worst consequences of lack of sleep. When destructive changes occur in the human nervous system, the brain suffers. Blood circulation in the frontal cortex deteriorates significantly, which leads to such negative reactions as:

Short-term memory loss;
Inability to think logically;
Frequent dizziness;
Decreased concentration.

With prolonged lack of sleep, serious mental disorders occur, which leads to the development of depression, neurosis, and attacks of aggression. Doctors advise such patients to take home treatment, refrain from driving a car and performing professional duties associated with difficult or dangerous work.

Physiological consequences

With a lack of rest, the body is subjected to severe stress, which causes hormonal imbalance. Ultimately, this leads to excess weight gain. Interestingly, the kilograms are put off, despite the fact that a person feels sick from lack of sleep.

The paradox is explained simply - since the body works at a slow pace, the absorption of glucose decreases. At the same time, increased production of the hunger hormone forces you to frequently consume high-calorie foods. As a result, excess energy goes into fat deposits.

Due to constant stress, the pressure in the blood vessels increases. Pathologies of the cardiovascular system develop slowly, but do not manifest themselves until a critical moment. Hypertensive people are in the increased danger zone, since their likelihood of having a stroke is much higher than for hypotensive people or people with normal blood pressure.

Disruption of normal blood flow leads to constant dizziness and even fainting due to oxygen and glucose starvation. The body temperature rises from lack of sleep, so a person confuses a lack of rest with a developing cold or flu, and begins the wrong treatment, which only aggravates the situation.

In medical practice, there is evidence that if a person does not sleep at all, then after 7-10 days he will die. Of course, the risk of mortality with systematic sleep deprivation is lower than with complete lack of sleep, but it still exceeds the normal value by 300%.

Treatment

If sleep deprivation has just begun to develop, then it is not necessary to see a doctor, since the disease is highly treatable. For this it is enough:

Normalize your daily routine;
Spend more time in the air to enrich the body with oxygen;
Make your sleeping area comfortable;
Eliminate daytime naps;
Give up bad habits and switch to a healthy lifestyle.

But if the symptoms of the disease appear constantly, you need to find out how to treat chronic lack of sleep. It is best to contact your primary care physician. After conducting a laboratory examination, he will clarify the specifics of the disease and will be able to redirect you to a more qualified specialist for this problem. If you want to speed up the process, you can immediately make an appointment with a neurologist, since in most cases it is he who helps cope with sleep disorders.

Experts identify several methods for combating sleep deprivation:

Medicines

They can be represented by mild hypnotics or powerful tranquilizers, which are prescribed depending on the level of complexity of the disease. Medicines are prescribed if the basis of the disease lies in a nervous disorder, emotional or psychological instability.

Folk remedies

In complex cases they are used as auxiliary, and in simple cases - as the main means of treatment. Baths with relaxing herbs and light sedative teas can normalize sleep phases and improve the quality of rest.

Massage

It is necessary when there is severe tightness in the muscle corset, especially in the neck and shoulders. The treatment course will allow you to relieve excess stress and relax. It is best to perform this procedure immediately before bed or a few hours before it.

Any drug therapy consists of an integrated approach, including normalizing the daily routine and maintaining sleep hygiene. Without these components, all additional measures will not bring results.

Possible complications

Many people don't realize that lack of sleep leads to health problems. The effects of lack of sleep on the body can be varied.

Decreased potency in men

Hormonal imbalance leads to a decrease in testosterone production by about 15%, which negatively affects sexual function and the quality of intimate life. Naturally, this leads to even greater psychological problems.

Frequent illnesses

A general decrease in immunity makes the body unprotected against viruses and bacteria. As a result, a person begins to get sick often. If lack of sleep is associated with problems at work, then you need to remember that constant sick leave is unlikely to have a positive impact on your career.

Decreased vision

Overstrain of the optic nerve leads to swelling. Intracranial pressure increases, destructive processes in blood vessels are observed, which leads to a significant loss of visual acuity.

Diabetes

Problems with the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and glucose absorption increase the risk of developing diabetes. Particular caution should be exercised by people with a predisposition to the disease.

Shortened life expectancy

Statistics show that people who normalize their daily routine tend to live longer than people with insomnia. At the same time, even sleeping pills do not help prolong life.

Oncological diseases

During sleep, the body actively produces melatonin, which suppresses the production of cancer cells in certain organs. Lack of proper rest leads to decreased melatonin production and an increased risk of developing cancer.

These are the most common complications diagnosed in patients with chronic sleep deprivation. Knowing the dangers of lack of sleep, you can prevent the development of pathological processes and improve your quality of life by strictly following the correct daily routine.

Healthy sleep will best help hide the signs of lack of sleep on your face. To improve it, doctors advise:

Temporarily introduce a daytime rest of 1-1.5 hours into your daily routine;
Stop using electronic equipment 1.5-2 hours before going to bed at night.

Systematic physical activity, maintaining an optimal indoor microclimate, sufficient oxygen and following a healthy diet will also help improve the quality of sleep. All these measures will help prevent the development of sleep deprivation or treat its initial stage in order to eliminate serious complications and restore a high quality of life.

According to statistics, a person spends a third of his life sleeping. However, this is not at all a reason to consider a night’s rest a luxury and idleness. Adequate sleep is not a whim, but an essential component of a healthy lifestyle, because our body and brain vitally need regular restoration.

The benefits of night rest lie in the ability to replenish energy reserves, normalize the functioning of the nervous system and strengthen the immune system, and in this regard, sleep is a powerful prevention of a variety of diseases. During sleep, a person recovers more quickly from illness, his wounds and burns heal faster, and the brain begins to think better analytically, finding answers to problems that could not be solved during the day.

Unfortunately, modern man does not get enough sleep. In conditions of constant employment, when all thoughts are aimed at achieving results and trying to make the most of the available time, a person takes away the time he lacks from sleep, accustoming himself to sleep 4-5 hours a day. And this rhythm of life seems quite normal to him. But few people realize that in the rhythm of daily lack of sleep, the body works with all its might, which can lead to the development of many serious diseases. Moreover, not considering chronic lack of sleep as a problem, a person gets used to dealing with increased fatigue and daytime sleepiness with a cup of coffee or strong tea, without even thinking about going to the doctor and without trying to understand the causes of the existing ailment.

If this situation drags on for months and years, lack of sleep becomes a huge problem for a person, leading to the development of serious diseases, including hypertension, diabetes and even cancer. To see this, take a look at the consequences this condition leads to.

10 Horrible Consequences of Chronic Sleep Deprivation

1. Memory loss

During sleep, the brain processes and systematizes the information received during the day, storing it in short-term memory. Moreover, depending on the phase of sleep, different information processing processes occur, translating it into memories. If a person does not get enough sleep, these processes are disrupted, resulting in memory problems.

2. Impaired concentration and slow reaction

Each of us has experienced the relationship between memory and sleep. It is incredibly difficult for a person who has not had enough sleep to analyze the necessary information, since he cannot focus and concentrate on the question. And this already indicates a violation of concentration, without which a person often makes mistakes and is unable to solve even simple logical problems. But what’s even more dangerous is that chronic lack of sleep significantly slows down the body’s response. And this leads to an increase in the number of emergency situations on the roads and accidents at work. Moreover, as statistics show, accidents due to lack of sleep are most typical for people under 25 years of age, who consider sleeping 5 hours a day the norm.

3. Visual impairment due to constant lack of sleep

By neglecting proper sleep, a person experiences constant overstrain, which invariably affects vision. This conclusion was reached by Japanese scientists who conducted a series of experiments and found that regular lack of sleep can cause ischemic optic neuropathy. This severe vascular disease disrupts the nutrition of the optic nerve, resulting in a person developing glaucoma, which can subsequently cause complete loss of vision. Thus, when you notice the first signs of visual impairment, the first step is to normalize your sleep to prevent the condition from worsening.

4. Depressed mood

With constant lack of sleep, the nervous system is seriously depleted, and therefore it is not surprising that a person who has not had enough sleep is often irritated and aggressive. This problem is especially relevant for adolescents, whose psyche is extremely vulnerable during puberty. When there is a lack of sleep, noticeable changes occur in the brains of young people. In areas responsible for positive thinking, activity decreases, and in areas regulating negative associations, on the contrary, it increases. All this leads to pessimism and an emotionally depressed state, from which it is very close to depression and suicidal thoughts. By the way, statistics confirm that people with chronic sleep deprivation experience mental disorders 4 times more often.

5. Excess weight

Many will be surprised, but overweight and obesity are associated with lack of sleep. It would seem that everything is the other way around - if we sleep less, we move more and burn fat faster. In fact, in the absence of proper sleep, the balance of hormones in the body is disrupted, in particular, the synthesis of ghrelin, the so-called “hunger hormone,” increases. When it accumulates in the body, a person experiences a constant feeling of hunger, which is not at all easy to eliminate. When an excess of the hormone cortisol is added to excess ghrelin, a person begins to “eat up” his problems and invariably gains weight. If you do not understand the causes of this condition in a timely manner, you can become obese, which will jeopardize the functioning of the heart and blood vessels, and significantly increase the risk of diabetes.

6. Decreased libido

This information should be of interest to sexually active men and women. It turns out that chronic lack of sleep, accompanied by a lack of energy and overexertion, has the most negative effect on libido. Back in 2002, French doctors noted that sleeping less than 6 hours a day, as well as interrupted sleep in people suffering from sleep apnea, leads to a decrease in testosterone levels in the blood, which is manifested by a gradually weakening sexual desire.

7. Premature aging

You can spend fabulous sums on cosmetics and procedures to prevent early aging, but without proper sleep, all attempts to prolong youth are simply useless. With a lack of rest, the body experiences chronic stress, increasing the synthesis of cortisol in the body. This hormone provokes increased sebum secretion, which causes early skin aging. Based on this, remember that if you sleep 8 hours a day, cortisol levels decrease and return to normal, giving epidermal cells time to regenerate. Scientists also say that lack of sleep affects the aging of the body. According to studies, signs of aging in women 35–50 years old who sleep no more than 5 hours a day appear 2 times faster.

8. Increase in the number of diseases

A person who sleeps no more than 5 hours a day greatly weakens his immunity. Scientists from the University of Massachusetts have found that with a lack of night rest in the body, the number of cytokines - protein compounds responsible for the strength of the immune system - sharply decreases. Thus, if we regularly do not get enough sleep, our body becomes powerless against pathogenic agents and is susceptible to infectious diseases. However, this is not the worst thing. To date, it has been proven that chronic sleep deficiency increases the likelihood of developing arterial hypertension and tachycardia by 7 times, heart failure, heart attack and stroke by 5 times, and diabetes mellitus by 3 times. All this suggests that chronic lack of sleep is a “silent killer” that destroys our body from the inside!

9. The occurrence of cancerous tumors

What could be more dangerous? It turns out that chronic lack of sleep can result in the development of cancer. The point again is in hormones, in particular, in the hormone melatonin, the production of which is disrupted with insufficient night rest. But this substance has antioxidant properties, thanks to which it suppresses the occurrence of malignant tumors in the body. Thus, lack of sleep deprives us of important protection, and increases the likelihood of cancer.

10. Shortened life expectancy

Finally, after lengthy research, scientists came to the conclusion that sleeping less than 7 hours a day reduces life expectancy by almost 10 years, while increasing mortality from all causes by 2 times! And if, in parallel with chronic lack of sleep, you constantly overeat, smoke and are exposed to numerous stresses, the result will be completely disastrous.

It is obvious that chronic lack of sleep is a serious problem, which, without correcting your rest and sleep patterns, can cause irreparable damage to both physical and mental health. What can be done to prevent this from happening?

How to normalize sleep

Here are some simple tips to help solve the problem of lack of sleep.

1. Understand the detrimental effects of lack of sleep, because otherwise all the other tips simply won’t work.

2. Choose a suitable bedtime that allows you to spend at least 7 hours a day in bed, and strictly adhere to this guideline.

3. During your lunch break or upon returning home after work, try to avoid long naps (no more than 30 minutes), since in this case you simply will not be able to fall asleep at the appointed time.

4. Try not to overeat before bed, because in this case you risk tossing and turning in bed for a long time, trying to sleep.

5. Avoid coffee, strong tea and other tonic drinks that will interfere with relaxation and sleep. If you find it difficult to drink such drinks, then it is better to drink them in the first half of the day.

6. In the last hours before bed, try to avoid excessive physical activity, which will also interfere with falling asleep.

7. Make sure that your bedroom is conducive to sleep, that it is soundproofed, has heavy curtains to create twilight, and that there is no TV, computer or other objects that interfere with rest. The temperature in the bedroom should be no more than 20 degrees, ideally from 16 to 19.

8. Provide fresh air access to the sleeping area; to do this, you need to ventilate the bedroom for at least 15 minutes. It's better to sleep with the window slightly open.

9. A walk in the evening before bed promotes relaxation and will bring calm, saturate the body with oxygen, which also helps you fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly. Working out at the gym cannot replace an evening walk.

10. Before going to bed, take a warm bath, preferably with the addition of soothing herbs, and then drink a cup of tea with chamomile or mint, because these herbs perfectly relax and soothe, preparing the body for sleep.
Sweet dreams!

Contents of the article

Full sleep implies the following regimen: you go to bed at 9-10 pm, instantly fall asleep and sleep without interruptions or awakenings for 9 hours. However, people prefer to violate this regime: they go to bed long after midnight, stay up late at night playing games, watching TV or working, and abuse caffeine, alcohol and heavy food, especially before bed. As a result, there are 4-5 hours of sleep left per day.

Symptoms of sleep deprivation

There is a lack of sleep. Disorders immediately appear in the body - skin diseases, problems with attentiveness and memory, weak immunity. Let's look at what else is dangerous about lack of sleep and how to prevent it.

Its symptoms include:

circles under the eyes;
pale skin;
drowsiness, microsleeps (short-term disconnections from reality);
red, tired eyes;
headache, dizziness;
nausea;
lack of concentration and productivity;
irritability, anxiety;
body temperature rises;
blood pressure levels increase.

What does chronic lack of sleep lead to? This condition negatively affects health, especially women's health. However, lack of sleep also worsens the health of men, and in this case it is more difficult to diagnose, which complicates treatment.

What does lack of sleep lead to in men? This pathological condition impairs physical fitness and training. Due to the constant feeling of fatigue, I have no strength or desire to train in the gym. In addition, lack of sleep reduces the production of a special hormone in the body - somatostatin. It is responsible for growth and increase in muscle mass.

Lack of sleep causes a lot of aesthetic problems for women in the form of bruises and circles under the eyes

What does lack of sleep lead to in women? One of the most common factors that upset the female sex is a deterioration in appearance. Swelling occurs, distinct bruises form under the eyes, the face itself becomes “bruised” and takes on a tired appearance. This cannot be eliminated with concealer foundation or eye drops.

So, we briefly looked at the dangers of lack of sleep. If you don't get enough sleep, you need to get enough sleep as quickly as possible, and then adhere to the correct daily routine.

Consequences of lack of sleep

Difficulties in communication

Even if you slept poorly for just one night, the very next morning you will notice that the desire to communicate with others has disappeared, along with your sense of humor and positive attitude. The consequences of lack of sleep, if there has been no proper rest for a long time, are apathy, isolation, detachment, and the desire to leave society.

Lack of sleep: psychological consequences

Why does a person sleep little at night? The reason may lie in psychological problems when the body lacks serotonin, the hormone of happiness. The consequences of lack of sleep and insomnia are that a person loses the ability to evaluate reality objectively. He begins to perceive it in black terms, does not want to make plans for the future and achieve goals, and ignores positive events.

If you get little sleep, the consequences can be dire: people who have not slept for a long time develop a tendency towards suicide, which is influenced by the influence of a tired body.

Lack of sleep has especially negative consequences for men. A sleep-deprived person lacks the strength to perform his work duties in full. He can hardly force himself to complete the minimum necessary tasks. Career growth in such situations is not important; a man may refuse tempting offers that come his way, and in severe cases he loses his job.

Psychological problems often lead to suicide

Psychological consequences of lack of sleep

What happens if you sleep very little? Lack of sleep is the cause of complications and pathological processes in the body. Negative consequences can occur in any organ and system of the body - from memory and thinking to psychological and neurological disorders.

If you are asking the question “What should I do if I don’t sleep enough,” then you should urgently solve the problem of chronic lack of rest before serious malfunctions and disorders occur in the body. Get enough sleep: The consequences of sleep deprivation for women and men can include memory impairment. Sound and healthy sleep directly affects the ability to remember information. If you feel that remembering something is becoming more and more difficult every day, then you need proper rest.

If you haven't been able to get enough sleep for a long time, your ability to make decisions (even the smallest ones) deteriorates. You have been thinking for a long time about what to buy for tea, what movie to choose at the cinema, what gift to give to a relative for his birthday.

Problems arise when an important decision needs to be made. If the situation is stressful, and the need to quickly decide on any issue looms over you, you risk falling into panic or stupor.

A tired and sleep-deprived person is unable to concentrate. It is proper rest that affects the level of concentration. If a person regularly deprives himself of proper sleep, then his productivity decreases significantly, and he is distracted many times while performing a task. Chronic lack of sleep can be easily identified by a sluggish gaze that is directed to nowhere.

Risk of depression

Lack of sleep leads to brain damage. People who get little sleep are especially susceptible to depression. It is enough to sleep a maximum of 5 hours a day, and then the risk of developing depression increases significantly.

Sometimes getting enough sleep is enough to get rid of depression and bad mood

There is also a risk of severe anxiety disorders. They manifest themselves in the form of nightmares, panic attacks and require timely treatment.

Irritability

What does chronic lack of sleep lead to? Lack of sleep has a negative impact on psychological balance. A person who does not get enough sleep constantly feels irritable and has negative emotions. Research shows that this can lead to increased impulsivity when you react too strongly to events. No one cares about the consequences at such moments.

Memory lapses

Chronic lack of sleep has the following manifestations, symptoms and consequences. With a constant lack of sleep and rest, the body will begin to “steal” it. As a result, a person will begin to switch off at any time, even the most inappropriate - for example, while driving. According to statistics, 50% of drivers have at least once disconnected from reality for a short time, usually continuing to drive further. If you realize that you fall asleep for a few seconds during the day, then it’s time to reconsider your daily routine.

Fainting, headaches, dizziness, and hallucinations also often occur. Consciousness becomes confused, gaps arise in thinking, and a person often loses his sense of reality.

Clumsiness

Lack of sleep clearly shows up in coordination. Scientists have found that people who are chronically sleep deprived behave more clumsily than those who drank a little alcohol. The state of sleep deprivation generally resembles that which occurs after drinking alcohol.

Decreased libido, impotence

Decreased libido is a natural manifestation of lack of sleep. Chronic lack of sleep causes a decrease in sexual desire. In advanced situations it is reduced to a minimum.

For men, lack of sleep is especially dangerous. He is the cause of impotence

Physiological consequences of lack of sleep

What else does lack of sleep lead to? Chronic lack of sleep negatively affects human health and physiology.

Premature aging, decreased life expectancy

You should not disturb your sleep schedule. Scientists have proven that chronic lack of sleep leads to the risk of death at a young age. Lack of rest is harmful to health: the functioning of organs and systems is disrupted, which is especially true for the brain and heart.

Visual impairment

What happens if you don't sleep enough? If you can’t fall asleep, and as a result there is less time for sleep, then people who have not slept for a long time feel tension in their eyes. This can lead to ischemic neuropathy.

With this diagnosis, the nutrition of the optic nerve is disrupted, which increases the risk of glaucoma. In advanced cases, vision may disappear completely. To prevent negative consequences, it is necessary to normalize sleep and wakefulness.

Change your appearance

Without adequate sleep, the skin begins to age. With chronic lack of sleep, the elasticity of the epidermis significantly worsens. Chronic fatigue leads to constant tension, which increases the production of cortisol. Its increased amount destroys the protein responsible for the youthful and healthy appearance of the skin.

Other signs of deterioration in appearance are the well-known dark circles under the eyes and puffiness.

Overweight

Many girls and boys eat away stress with junk food. In large quantities it leads to excess weight. Why does a person sleep little? Overeating worsens the quality of sleep, since the body, instead of resting and restoring, has to spend all its energy on digesting food. As a result, in the morning a person wakes up completely exhausted and has absolutely no sleep.

Diabetes

Is it bad to sleep a little? Scientists give an affirmative answer. With prolonged insomnia and lack of a daily routine, the risk of diabetes increases 3 times. Law enforcement officers and doctors are especially susceptible to this disease.

Decreased body temperature

Lack of proper rest leads to disruption of metabolic processes. This condition negatively affects body temperature, which decreases significantly. As a result, a person freezes and cannot warm up for a long time.

Weakening of the immune system

In order for the immune system to function properly, the body requires regular, proper rest. Otherwise, the immune system begins to work intermittently, and the person often gets sick. The cause is precisely lack of sleep. The susceptibility to infectious and cancer diseases increases significantly.

A weakened immune system leads not only to colds, but also to more serious diseases.

How to compensate for lack of sleep

Let's look at ways to compensate for lack of sleep. It is quite possible to compensate, the main thing is to pay attention to it.

Set your priorities

Analyze your sleep and wakefulness patterns. Sleep should come first, while mindlessly surfing the Internet, watching TV series, reading books and even some household chores should come second to last.

Sleep during the day

Lack of sleep can only be made up for by one action - sleep. What to do if you don't get enough sleep? Try to take a nap during the daytime. For such a vacation, you should prepare in advance: find a quiet place where no one will disturb you. Curtain the windows, ensuring the room is dim. Sit comfortably half-sitting (and the best option is in a horizontal position). Get at least 20 minutes of sleep to a maximum of an hour and a half. You should not rest anymore, otherwise you will experience insomnia at night.

The best option for daytime sleep is after lunch and before 16.00. A full day's sleep and a nap after lunch have a fundamental difference: with the help of the first, you can restore vigor and really compensate for the lack of sleep, while a nap deprives you of concentration and makes you more sleepy and tired. If you didn’t get enough sleep at night, and after lunch you have 30 minutes to sleep, take advantage of this time. When there is no need for deep, restful sleep, you should not sleep.

Improve your sleep quality

Poor sleep quality consists of prolonged insomnia and frequent awakenings. This quality is also facilitated by the lack of oxygen in the room, an uncomfortable sofa, and an anxious, tense state.

High-quality sleep consists of the following components: a ventilated room, a comfortable and healthy mattress, complete peace of mind and relaxation.

Take care of the place where you sleep. It should be spacious, bright and well ventilated

It is better to sleep a few hours, but with high-quality sleep, than a lot, but with low quality, in discomfort and with frequent interruptions.

To improve your sleep quality, use the following tips:

go to bed at 10-11 pm;
choose for yourself a comfortable orthopedic mattress, a comfortable pillow;
achieve the optimal temperature in the room so that you are not too hot, stuffy or cold;
ventilate the room regularly, especially in the summer;
Tame your pets not to interfere with your rest at night;
give up alcohol, coffee and food a few hours before bedtime;
if you do not expect important and urgent calls, put your phone on silent mode;
Don’t watch horror films before going to bed, don’t read the news, and don’t sort things out with loved ones.

If you follow all the advice, sleep longer and quit your job where you have to get up at 4 am, life will definitely sparkle with new colors.

How much sleep does a person need during the day and what is chronic sleep deprivation? These questions have been of concern to doctors, psychologists, ordinary people and even the military since ancient times. We will also try to understand this issue.

The concept of sleep in ancient times

Previously, it was almost universally believed that sleep was a state in which the soul flies out of the human body and may not even return back.

Almost all ancient civilizations treated dreams with sacred awe. For example, in Ancient Egypt it was believed that a dream was a message from the gods. Almost everywhere there is a belief that sleep is a brief state like death, when a person’s soul flies into unknown distances and sometimes may not return back.

However, in addition to such explanations, some ancient thinkers tried to give some kind of scientific interpretation of this phenomenon and use the sleep state to treat certain diseases. For example, Hippocrates, Galen, Aristotle tried to distinguish dreams that arouse illness and those that heal it.

How scientists explain the mechanism of falling asleep

Despite significant progress in studying the structure and functions of the brain, the state of sleep is still a completely unsolved mystery for many serious researchers. Currently, there are quite a few theories as to why we sleep and why we need it. The only indisputable fact is that every person spends almost a third of his life in a state of sleep.

It is believed that during wakefulness, certain structures of the brain already begin to produce substances, thanks to the action of which sleep subsequently occurs (for example, melatonin, serotonin and other substances that have not been fully studied).

In general, for the body, falling asleep is a signal to switch to a different mode of functioning and activity, a sign to launch many restoration processes and cleanse cells of various unnecessary substances.

For the nervous system, sleep also means processing and comprehension of the information received during the day, analysis and search for a solution on a subconscious level.

Types of sleep

The process of sleep itself is heterogeneous in its essence. While observing sleeping people, researchers noted a certain cyclical nature of the processes occurring: the presence of alternating periods of slow and fast sleep. In total, about 3–5 such cycles are observed during the night.

REM sleep

Scientists call fast sleep, during which the pupils of the closed eyes move quickly, although the body is motionless and quite relaxed. The electroencephalogram recorded during this period will resemble that of a awake person.

REM sleep is considered the fifth stage of sleep and usually occurs 1–1.5 hours after falling asleep. A person sees beautiful and memorable dreams precisely in this phase, and its duration is about 10 minutes.

Interestingly, REM sleep is most often observed in newborns (they probably need it for the normal development of the nervous system), and over the years its amount decreases significantly.

If a person is deprived of the rapid phase of sleep, which some medications do, then one of the forms of chronic sleep deprivation may develop, when the person will feel exhausted and tired all day, without sleep.

slow sleep

NREM sleep takes up significantly more time in the sleep cycle than REM sleep. From the moment you fall asleep until the onset of REM sleep, it can last about 90 minutes.

During this period, the electroencephalogram records slow alpha waves, which are gradually replaced by theta waves. The heart rate slows down, blood pressure decreases, and breathing becomes less frequent.

Eventually, so-called delta sleep occurs, which is characterized by the presence of delta waves on the EEG. During such sleep, it is very difficult to wake a person, although it is in this phase that the phenomena of sleepwalking and nocturnal enuresis can be observed.

It is believed that during slow-wave sleep, the main energy costs are replenished, and the brain sorts and processes information that, in its opinion, is necessary for memorization.

What else happens to the body during the night?

Growth hormone is produced - somatotropin (it’s not without reason that children grow in their sleep).
Prolactin is synthesized, a hormone that ensures the secretion of milk by a nursing mother during the day.
In those suffering from duodenal ulcer, during REM sleep, the level of hydrochloric acid secretion can increase 20 times, which provokes hunger pains at night.
Nocturnal angina attacks become more frequent during REM sleep.
All body systems are restored.

How much sleep does a person need?

An adult needs to sleep 7-8 hours a day, at least 2 of which should be before 24:00.

More than one generation of researchers has tried to answer this question. It is believed that on average an adult needs 7-8 hours of good sleep, 2 of which should occur before 12 o'clock at night. In general, women need 1 hour more sleep than men.

However, the facts are undeniable that for some people a significantly smaller number of hours of sleep is sufficient, while for others even 10 hours of sleep is not enough.

The most important criterion for “getting enough sleep” is that after waking up a person should feel rested and alert. If the rise is accompanied by weakness, bad mood and poor health, then sleep is clearly not enough.

The activity of the thyroid gland plays a huge role in the overall need for sleep. So, with insufficient production of its hormones (hypothyroidism), pathological drowsiness begins to be observed.

Consequences and symptoms of lack of sleep

Depression, decreased concentration, ability to concentrate and highlight the main thing.
Loss of sense of humor, increased irritability.
Hallucinations, lapses in thinking, periodic confusion.
Drowsiness while awake, loss of sense of reality of what is happening.
Dizziness, headaches, periodic fainting.
Decreased immunity, increased susceptibility to cancer and infectious diseases.
A condition similar to .
Increased risk of hypertensive crises, development of diabetes mellitus and diabetes.
Increase in the number of serious errors by medical workers after night duty.
Tendency to accumulate excess body weight (it is believed that if a person sleeps for 5 hours or less, he risks gaining weight by 50 percent or more, since with chronic lack of sleep, glucose is not utilized as muscle energy, but as fat).
Development of insomnia, impotence.

Who or what steals sleep

The most common sleep thief of a modern person is the computer, telephone and TV. Oddly enough, a sedentary lifestyle also plays a very significant role in depriving a sufficient amount of sleep (with physical inactivity, it is very difficult for a person to fall asleep on time, and the need to wake up early is forced by the need to be at work or classes - so the amount of sleep is reduced).

Late and heavy dinners, family quarrels in the evening, taking stimulating drinks, night shifts, overtime work can also steal such precious hours of sleep.

Chronic lack of sleep: how to deal with it

Normalize and put your lifestyle in order: try to go to bed no later than 22-23.00, and wake up 7-8 hours after falling asleep.
During the day - more physical activity.
Do not drink stimulant drinks or alcohol in the second half.
Quit smoking.
Use the bed only for sleeping.
The night before you go to bed, take a short walk in the fresh air, forgive everyone (including yourself): let your emotions subside, let your passions settle down. Find at least 10 reasons to be grateful for this day. Take a warm bath, turn on quiet soothing music, and have a relaxing massage.

Well, if these measures do not help, seek help from a specialist.

Here is a short test that will help you determine whether your body is getting enough sleep.

When the alarm clock rings, do you set the clock to a later time and continue sleeping?
Sometimes you don't hear the call at all?
Do you find it difficult to get out of bed when you wake up?
Do you doze off in public transport, during lectures and meetings?
Do you sleep longer than usual when you don't have to go to work?
Do you lose your temper if your plans fall apart?
A glass of alcohol will get you going?
Do you like to take a nap during the day?
Are you acutely aware of the fatigue that has accumulated over the week?

If you answered yes to at least 2 questions, you should reconsider your daily routine. Otherwise it will lead to serious illnesses.

An adult's sleep duration should be 7-8 hours. This is the time the body needs to fully recover. But how often a couple of hours are not enough to complete all the planned tasks. Naturally, this time is “stolen” at the expense of rest. The result is chronic lack of sleep. What are the health risks of this condition?

What is chronic sleep deprivation?

First, let's figure out what condition can be attributed to this pathology. A person who does not get enough sleep every day for several days or even weeks suffers from sleep deficiency. But it’s still too early to talk about chronic pathology. Of course, he encounters the first negative signs of this phenomenon. But chronic lack of sleep manifests itself in all its glory when a person limits his rest for several months.

A study was recently conducted at the University of Texas. It showed that residents who did not get the required amount of sleep for 7 nights in a row had genetic changes. Such violations lead to the development of serious health problems. This is a disease of memory loss.

Therefore, people who sleep 6 hours a night, and sometimes less, should be aware of the serious risks to which they expose their body.

Reasons for constant lack of sleep

Both internal and external factors can lead to an insufficient night's rest. Internal causes include a variety of psychological or physiological problems. And external are various circumstances that do not make it possible to go to bed on time or fully rest.

Let's consider the most basic factors that most often lead to such a phenomenon as chronic lack of sleep.

Reasons for poor quality night rest:

Stress. This is the most common reason for inadequate rest. The nature of insomnia may be due to unpleasant memories, problems at work or in personal life, financial or these factors lead to a decrease in the production of melatonin in the body. Instead, the synthesis of adrenaline increases. It is this that leads to overexcitation of the nervous system and provokes problems with falling asleep.
Mental illnesses. Sometimes insomnia is a symptom of various abnormalities. It may indicate the development of psychosis, neurosis, manic disorder, or prolonged depression in the body.
Physiological ailments. Very often they cause insomnia in older people. Although even children are not protected from such pathologies. Diseases can worsen in the evening or at night. This prevents you from falling asleep quickly. Sometimes unpleasant symptoms make you wake up at night. Most often, chronic lack of sleep occurs against the background of the following diseases: diathesis, enuresis, angina pectoris, restless legs syndrome, hormonal imbalance, joint disease (arthrosis, arthritis), hypertension, obstructive apnea.
Failure of biological rhythms. All human systems are designed in such a way that between approximately 8 and 10 pm the processes occurring in the body begin to slow down. This causes the person to relax and fall asleep. If this moment is ignored for a long time and the person does not go to bed at the proper time, then a violation of the biological rhythm occurs. As a result, a person tosses and turns in bed for a long time and cannot sleep.

Main symptoms

With chronic lack of sleep, a person’s condition is a bit like alcohol intoxication. Such a person is drowsy, she may experience hallucinations and even confusion.

Doctors consider this condition as a disease - a sleep disorder. The body is not able to fully recover. This leads to a number of negative violations. Chronic lack of sleep primarily affects a person’s appearance, general condition and character.

Symptoms affecting the nervous system:

inattention;
depression and apathy;
irritability;
increased emotionality (unreasonable tears or inappropriate laughter);
inability to concentrate;
decreased cognitive abilities (thinking, speech, memory).

Signs of lack of sleep that affect your appearance:

swelling of the eyelids;
redness of the whites of the eyes;
pale or sallow skin color;
formation of dark circles under the eyes;
Quite unkempt looking.

Symptoms affecting body systems:

dizziness, headache;
deterioration in the functioning of the digestive tract (diarrhea, constipation);
nausea, flatulence;
exacerbation of chronic ailments;
decreased immunity;
susceptibility to colds.

What does lack of sleep lead to?

This condition is quite dangerous. After all, the body may try to compensate for the lack of rest. In other words, a person can fall asleep at any moment, regardless of whether he is at work or driving.

However, this is not the only negative factor that chronic lack of sleep can lead to. The consequences of neglecting rest for a long time can be much more serious.

Doctors, having carefully studied this condition, claim that chronic lack of sleep can provoke:

stroke;
obesity;
diabetes mellitus;
serious memory impairment (up to loss of brain tissue);
weakening of the immune system;
the appearance of heart disease;
breast or intestinal cancer;
hypertensive crisis;
chronic fatigue syndrome;
the appearance of depression.

Now, knowing what chronic lack of sleep leads to, let's look at how to get rid of this condition.

Choose a mattress with medium firmness.
Use a low pillow.
Underwear and bed linen should be made from natural fabrics.
Eliminate irritating factors (ticking clock, draft, flashing electronic sensor).
Avoid watching movies or reading negative books before bed.
3-4 hours before rest, give up caffeine-containing products (energy drinks, tea, coffee).
2 hours before bedtime, do not eat heavy, fatty foods.
Go to bed no later than 10-11 pm.

Basic treatment methods

If all the symptoms indicate that you have developed chronic sleep deprivation, what should you do in this situation? Initially, the cause of this condition should be eliminated.

In most cases, the following measures are sufficient to improve sleep quality:

Avoid daytime naps completely.
Try to move more during the day (walk, play sports).
Before resting, carry out procedures that can eliminate nervous tension (watching humorous films, calm music,
Be sure to ventilate your bedroom before going to bed.
Try to go to bed at the same time.
Do not use alcohol to fall asleep. It provides heavy and superficial rest.

If chronic lack of sleep is based on psychological or physiological problems, then you need to turn to professionals. Those people who do not have obvious reasons for poor quality sleep should undergo a full examination.

Folk remedies

Ancient recipes should not be ignored.

Falling asleep and proper rest can be ensured by the following means:

Peony tincture (10%). It is recommended to use it three times a day, 30 drops for 1 month.
Green tea with honey. It should be consumed daily, preferably before bed.
Warm milk with added honey. This is another excellent remedy that normalizes night sleep. It is recommended to drink 1 glass of the drink before bed.

If all the methods described above do not help you relax, you may need special medication treatment. Therefore, consult a doctor who will select adequate therapy.