Do you have sleepless nights? If you’ve experienced what it’s like to not sleep a wink, then you’ll know that the morning after is definitely not a pleasant experience. Besides being low in energy, you’re likely to not gain points for congeniality.
Nowadays, sleep deprivation has become a chronic condition and it’s possible that you might not even be aware that you’re suffering from it, Dr. Joseph Mercola points out.
If you’re gotten used to spreading yourself too thin and hardly have time to rest, then it’s likely that sleep deprivation has become normal to you. The same goes if you work the night shift, stay up way too late or ate too much food close to bedtime.
Lack of sleep, however, should not feel normal because it can have dire consequences to your health, Dr. Mercola warns.
Lack of Sleep Can Make You Weep
Lost sleep is a debt you can’t hope to repay because the hours of sleep you’ve lost are lost forever. You can’t store a supply of sleep to use for later. Sure you’ll feel better when you get longer sleep after a restless night but the benefits are temporary.
Ideally, adults need between 6 to 9 hours of sleep while adolescents and teens should get at least 9 hours a night, Mercola explains. If you constantly don’t get enough sleep, your sleep deficit is bound to catch up to you in the long run, which can lead to serious negative effects including:
• Lack of focus and an impaired ability to think clearly the next day
• Changes in brain activity similar to those experienced by people with psychiatric disorders
• Stress related disorders like constipation, depression and stomach ulcers
• Feeling more stressed by the same daily minor stressful events also experienced by people who sleep well
• Increasing the possibility of weight gain and obesity
• Putting your body into a pre-diabetic state, making you feel hungry even if you’ve already eaten
• Weakening your immune system
• Triggering memory loss
• Hastening premature aging and increasing the severity of age-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure
Getting good quality sleep is a must. Don’t underestimate its importance to your health, longevity and quality of life. Click here to discover Dr. Mercola’s secrets to restful sleep.