Sleep is often touted as one of the key elements of a healthy lifestyle. Alongside regular exercise and healthy eating, sleep is one of the pillars of good health.
As many of us have experienced, not sleeping enough for one night leaves you feeling fatigued, lacking energy, and struggling to concentrate. But long-term sleep loss can create chronic problems in your body and negatively impact your ability to function day by day.
Luckily, there are ways to get a better night’s sleep and avoid the negative impacts of not getting enough sleep. Here’s what happens to our bodies when we don’t sleep enough and how to get more, better-quality sleep.
What Happens When You Don’t Sleep Enough
1. Your Immune System Is Weakened
If you regularly get less than seven hours a week, your immune system will suffer. People who sleep poorly are shown to have an increased chance of contracting illnesses and a slower recovery time.
2. You Lack Energy
When you consistently sleep badly, you lack energy the next day. You may feel so fatigued that you’re unable to carry out much physical activity, which can negatively impact your exercise routine.
If you struggle to work out as a result of little sleep, you may also be more likely to gain weight.
3. You Are Unable to Focus
Missing even one night of sleep can impair your cognitive ability, leaving you less able to focus on tasks at work or school. Lack of sleep affects brain functions such as memory, decision-making, reasoning, and problem-solving. Reaction times can also be delayed, which is why it’s dangerous to drive when tired.
4. You Gain Weight More Easily
Lack of sleep can increase the production of the hunger hormone, ghrelin. This hormone controls how much you want to eat, so when your signals are impacted, you can eat more than usual.
Lack of sleep can also affect your mood, potentially leading you to eat more food for emotional support or comfort.
5. Your Risk of Diabetes Increases
Because lack of sleep can disrupt hormones and insulin production and cause weight gain, not sleeping enough can increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
6. You’re More Prone to Accidents
When you don’t get enough sleep, your brain doesn’t function as it should. Your reaction times are also reduced, so you’ll be slower to respond to outside stimuli.
This lack of brainpower and slow reaction times combine to make you more accident-prone. With this in mind, it’s important to avoid taking part in strenuous activities or going for long drives when you’ve had a sleepless night.
How to Get More Sleep
To avoid negative health impacts, it’s important to put sleep at the forefront of your routine. Here are some simple tips that can improve your sleep.
1. Try a New Bed
If you follow all the usual sleep advice but still struggle with insomnia, your bed or mattress may be to blame.
If you’re kept away by your or your partner’s snoring, you might benefit from having a bed with an adjustable incline. Flexispot offers adjustable beds to reduce snoring, sleep apnea, back pain and pregnancy discomfort when sleeping.
Your mattress may also be negatively impacting your sleep, so consider investing in a mattress that better suits your needs.
2. Limit Naps During the Day
If you’re consistently sleeping badly, it can be tempting to compensate for lack of sleep with naps. Or, you may take an afternoon nap even when you’re not particularly tired because of boredom.
Avoid napping during the day, as this can make it harder to get to sleep at night. If possible, continue to spend your day as normal, then go to sleep slightly earlier at night instead.
3. Take a Hot Bath
Relaxing in a warm bath can help your body calm down and engage your parasympathetic nervous system before sleep. For the best results, take a bath up to 90 minutes before going to bed, and include another relaxing activity such as reading or listening to calming music.
4. Take a Melatonin Supplement
Melatonin is a sleep hormone that indicates to your body that it’s time to relax and sleep. When taken as a supplement, melatonin can help you get to sleep quicker and stay asleep for longer.
5. Limit Your Alcohol Intake
Having even a couple of drinks during the evening can affect your ability to sleep. Alcohol can increase the symptoms of sleep apnea, snoring, and disrupted sleep.
Plus, alcohol alters nighttime melatonin production, which helps to regulate your body’s circadian rhythm.
Some studies have shown that nighttime alcohol consumption decreases the natural nighttime elevations your body should experience in human growth hormone. This hormone (also known as HGH) plays a crucial role in your circadian rhythm.
