Consequences of Lack of Sleep [4]

Most people don’t get enough sleep. We are a society that burns the candle at both ends, a nation where people stay up all night to study, work, or have fun especially at Lagos – where an average person gets home from work by 11pm and is out of the house by 5am the next morning. However, going without adequate sleep carries with it both short- and long-term consequences.

Many effects of a lack of sleep, such as feeling grumpy and not working at your best, are well known. But did you know that sleep deprivation can also have profound consequences on your physical health?

In the short term, a lack of adequate sleep can affect judgment, mood, ability to learn and retain information, and may increase the risk of serious accidents and injury. In the long term, chronic sleep deprivation may lead to a host of health problems including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even early mortality.

Here are a few negative effects of lack of sleep:

10. Sleepiness drops your immunity.

If you seem to catch every cold and flu that is going around, your bedtime could be to blame. Prolonged lack of sleep can disrupt your immune system and leave you prone to many diseases.

11. Sleepiness reduces sex drive.

Men and women who do not get enough quality sleep, have lower libidos and less of interest in sex, research shows. Men who suffer from sleep apnoea – a disorder in which breathing difficulties lead to interrupted sleep – also tend to have lower testosterone levels, which can lower libido.

12. Sleepiness causes diabetes.

Studies have shown that people who usually sleep less than five hours a night have an increased risk of having or developing diabetes. Missing out on deep sleep may lead to type 2 diabetes by changing the way the body produces glucose – the high energy carbohydrate that cells use for fuel.