What Could Go Wrong If You Don’t Get Enough Sleep?

Getting enough sleep is extremely important for your overall health. Sleep deprivation leads to all manner of health conditions that are easily avoidable. Read on to learn what the impact of missing sleep really is:

You Get Sick

One of the first things to become effected when you fail to get enough sleep is your immune system loses strength. There is a direct correlation between sleep and the effectiveness of your immune system. That’s why when you’re sick, you feel the need to sleep a lot. Your immune system needs the strength provided by sleep.

Your Heart Develops Issues
Studies have shown that your heart requires very specific amounts of sleep. It can be negatively impacted by both, short sleep durations (5 hours or less) and long sleep durations (9 hour or more) can have a negative impact on your hearth’s health. It can even lead to the development of coronary heart disease and stroke.

Your Risk of Developing Cancer Increases

Failing to get a full night’s sleep has also been associated with higher rates of the development of certain types of cancer, such as, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colorectal cancer. People who work night shifts are especially prone to this due to the difficulty of getting a full night’s sleep.

Your Cognitive Abilities Become Disrupted

Just one night of missed sleep can throw all of your cognitive abilities out of whack.  Sleep effects the quality of your brain functions, like, memory, reasoning skills, decision making skills, problem solving skills, reaction time, and alertness.

Your Libido Is Reduced

Sleep also plays a major role in regulating your sex drive. Studies featuring young men have shown, that missing sleep over a one week period significantly decreased their testosterone levels. Sleeping for 5 or fewer hours reduced the levels of sex hormones by as much as 15 percent.