5 Scary Effects of Sleep Deprivation
There are a few things so important to health that they can be considered pillars. Get one of the pillars wrong, and the rest of your health begins to crumble. One of the vital pillars of health is sleep and sleep deprivation has some scary potential consequences.
Dr. Mark Hyman MD says, “…besides eating whole foods and moving your body, getting enough sleep is the most important thing you can do for your health.”
We are conditioned from a young age to view lost sleep as a badge of honor. When we are little, it is a reward to stay up late. We ‘pull all-nighters’ studying, driving overnight, for a big project at work or when binge-watching a recorded TV series.
Unfortunately, there’s a high price tag on not making quality sleep a high priority.
Robb Wolf is a former research biochemist that specialized in cancer and autoimmunity research. He is also a New York Times best selling author and does presentations on nutrition to organizations like NASA, Naval Special Warfare and the United States Marine Corps. In the forward to Dr. Kirk Parsley‘s book called Optimal Sleep, Robb says, “Let me be clear about what happens with inadequate sleep. You will get sick, fat and weak. You will age dramatically faster than normal. You will increase your likelihood of cancer, diabetes and neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.”
All that from not getting enough sleep? Yikes! Let’s take a look at some specific findings from research.
5 Scary Effects of Sleep Deprivation
1. Too little sleep makes you more likely to get sick
One study found participants were 3 times more likely to catch a cold if they slept less than 7 hours per night. Participants were 5 times more likely to get sick when sleep efficiency dropped from 98% to 95%. So it’s not just the quantity that matters. Quality matters even more when it comes to the immune system. [study]
Even a single night of reduced sleep resulted in “a reduction of natural immune responses“. [study]
2. Too little sleep increases your rick for major diseases
A review of 15 studies found that shorter sleepers are at far greater risk of heart disease or stroke than those who sleep 7 to 8 hours per night [study].
Sleep restriction reduces insulin sensitivity [study][study].
In a study of healthy young men, restricting sleep to 4 hours per night for 6 nights in a row caused symptoms of pre-diabetes [study]. This was then resolved after 1 week of increased sleep duration.
Those sleeping less than 6 hours per night have repeatedly been shown to be at increased risk for type 2 diabetes [study][study].
After following more than 70,000 diabetes-free women for a 10-year period, researchers found that women who slept five hours or less every night were 34 percent more likely to develop diabetes symptoms than women who slept for seven or eight hours each night. [study]
A study of 18,551 women that showed instances of breast cancer were 4 times higher in those that worked night shifts. [study]
Poor sleep has been strongly linked to long-term inflammation of the digestive tract, in disorders known as inflammatory bowel diseases [study][study][study][study].
Yet another study found fewer than 6 hours of sleep per day is associated with low-grade chronic inflammation and worsening insulin resistance, as well as increased risk for obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. [study]
3. Too little sleep makes you more likely to gain weight
Less sleep makes you feel more hungry. A study showed sleep debt to have a harmful impact on carbohydrate metabolism and endocrine function. [study]
Dr. Josh Axe elaborates: “Lack of sleep raises the level of cortisol which triggers the fight-or-flight response. During stress, our body shuts down normal maintenance. It activates fat storage and releases lots of sugar (for instant energy) into the bloodstream. It depletes the body of nutrients and triggers cravings for simple carbohydrates and sugar.”
Research backs it up. Those who slept less at night experienced greater food cravings. [study]
Studies have found that reduced sleep causes reduced leptin (hormone that suppresses appetite) and elevated ghrelin (hormone that increases appetite). [study][study][study]
Shorter sleep is linked to an 89% risk of obesity in children and a 55% increased risk in adults. Those who sleep less tend to weigh more. [study][study][study][study]
4. Too little sleep results in reduced brain function and motor performance
Former Navy SEAL Team 5 member and current MD, Dr. Kirk Parsley studies sleep. He says, “There is a diagnosis for this condition–where one’s prefrontal cortex is mildly impaired by sleep deprivation. It is called “mildly impaired–prefrontal cortex syndrome” (PFC)… This is scary, since the pre-frontal cortex is the region associated with executive function, impulse control, and attention. This includes being able to predict the consequences, or at least the likely consequences, of your actions. In absence of these executive functions, the medical community says that you have a “deficiency” in your attention and we call that ADD.” [study]
Before you decide to cram all night before a test, be aware that reduced sleep significantly hurts memory and problem solving ability. [study][study][study][study]
According to one study, “Moderate sleep deprivation produces impairments in cognitive and motor performance equivalent to legally prescribed levels of alcohol intoxication.” [study]
Another study found that interns on a “traditional schedule” made 36% more serious medical errors than interns on a schedule that allowed more sleep. [study]
Research shows that poor sleep affects our ability to recognize social cues and process emotions. One study found that people who had not slept had less ability to recognize expressions of anger and happiness [study]. Several studies confirmed this using emotional facial recognition tests [study][study].
A study of basketball players revealed that longer sleep significantly improved speed, accuracy, reaction time and mental wellbeing [study]
5. Too little sleep is associated with depression
It is estimated that 90% of patients with depression complain about sleep quality [study].
Poor sleep is associated with increased risk of death by suicide, even 10 years after adjustment for depressive symptoms [study].
Those with sleeping disorders, such as insomnia or obstructive sleep apnea, report significantly higher rates of depression than those without [study][study].
How Much Sleep is Enough?
According to Dr. Joseph Mercola:
“You Need Around Eight Hours of Sleep Every Night.
The studies are quite clear and most experts agree, you are seriously fooling yourself if you think you can do fine on less than eight hours of sleep. But eight hours of sleep is not eight hours in bed. If you go to bed at 10 pm and get out of bed at 6 am, you might say you’ve slept for eight hours. In reality, you probably spent at least 15-30 minutes falling asleep and may have woken during the night one or more times.
With the advent of fitness-tracking devices such as JAWBONE UP2 Activity Tracker
There are quite a few other devices that help track sleep now also:
- JawboneUP3
- Fitbit
- ELEGIANT Smart Bracelet Fitness Tracker
- iHealth Wireless Activity Sleep Tracker
- Apple Watch – You know you wanted an excuse to get one of these puppies. Now you have one!
But What if I Can’t Sleep?
[CLICK HERE] to see my collection of ideas to help overcome insomnia and upgrade the quality of your sleep.
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Thanks for reading!
Jeff
Additional Resources
10 Reasons Why Good Sleep is Important – Kris Gunnars
2013.06.24 – Podcast with Dr. Amy Myers and Dan Pardi – How to get great sleep
How the brain gets rid of waste that is associated with Alzheimer’s:
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