Medical Conditions Caused by Sleep Deprivation

The importance of sleep is well known. Some say that sleep is as important as water because it is vital to our lives. While you are sleeping, every cell of your body is regenerating. Consequently, sleep helps your tissues to be repaired, and it even improves the memory. No wonder why patients are told to sleep a lot after surgery or whenever they are recovering from a disease.

Sleep deprivation inhibits our body to function as it should and may lead to serious health diseases. It is needless to mention that you will feel tired, irascible and moody. Moreover, it will be hard for you to focus on your work. But when it happens once, it is not so serious. But what about sleep deprivation for a long time? The effects on your health are worrying. In fact, 90% of the people who are not resting enough for a longer period have at least one more medical condition. The health problems produced by lack of sleep vary from obesity to stroke.

• Heart problems

Sleep deprivation seriously affects the function of the heart. It has been proved that lack of sleep can lead to heart problems such as irregular heartbeat, heart failure, and even heart attack. A study with participants between 25 and 64 years that lasted 14 years revealed a strong connection between lack of sleep and heart problems. Two-thirds of the ones who suffered an attack had serious sleep disorders. Also, the ones who couldn’t get enough rest had a higher risk of myocardial infarction – a type of heart attack – and even of stroke.

• Alzheimer’s disease

A recent scientific research made at the Johns Hopkins University revealed that lack of sleep can cause Alzheimer’s disease and it can also lead to a rapid progression of the disease. There are many other studies that show how sleep deprivation can influence our brain functions.

Sleep is the factor that helps our brain to develop sharp wave ripples. These ripples are consolidating your memory, and they have a vital role in transferring the information to the part of the brain that stores long-term memories. Without sleeping, your long-term memory has to suffer.

Moreover, sleep is also necessary for getting rid of the cerebral waste. This waste has to be cleared away. Otherwise, it accumulates and may cause dementia. Without enough sleep, your brain is not able to remove all of the cerebral waste.

• Diabetes

How can sleep deprivation lead to diabetes? Blood sugar levels and deposits of fatty acids in your body are highly influenced by your sleep. If you don’t get enough sleep, you want to get energy from other sources, and the first option is food. Something sweet or with a lot of sugar may provide you energy for a short period, but it may considerable increase your blood sugar level. If this is happening for a long time, the risk of diabetes is high. Furthermore, sleep deprivation may also lead to insulin resistance, so that cells will no longer be able to use the hormones to help the body to use glucose for energy. This also results in high blood sugar levels.