You know lack of sleep can make you
grumpy and
foggy. You may not
know what it can do to your sex life, memory, health, looks, and even
ability to lose weight. Here are 10 surprising -- and serious -- effects
of sleep loss.
1. Sleepiness Causes Accidents
Sleep
deprivation was a
factor in some of the biggest disasters
in recent history: the 1979 nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, the
massive Exxon Valdez oil
spill, the 1986 nuclear
meltdown at Chernobyl,
and others.
But sleep loss is also a big public safety hazard every day on
the road.
Drowsiness can slow reaction time as much as driving drunk.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
estimates that
fatigue is a cause in 100,000 auto crashes and 1,550 crash-related
deaths a year in the U.S. The problem is greatest among people under 25
years old.
Studies show that sleep loss and poor-quality sleep also lead to
accidents and
injuries on the job. In one study, workers who
complained
about
excessive daytime sleepiness had
significantly more work
accidents,
particularly repeated work accidents. They also had more sick
days per accident.
2. Sleep Loss Dumbs You Down
Sleep plays a critical role in thinking and learning. Lack of
sleep hurts these
cognitive processes in many ways. First, it
impairs
attention,
alertness, concentration, reasoning, and problem solving.
This makes it more difficult to learn
efficiently.
Second, during the night,
various sleep cycles play a role in
“
consolidating” memories in the mind. If you don’t get enough sleep, you
won’t be able to remember what you learned and experienced during the
day.
3. Sleep Deprivation Can Lead to Serious Health Problems
Sleep
disorders and chronic sleep loss can put you at risk for:
- Heart disease
- Heart attack
- Heart failure
- Irregular heartbeat
- High blood pressure
- Stroke
- Diabetes
According to some estimates, 90% of people with
insomnia -- a
sleep disorder characterized by trouble
falling and staying
asleep --
also have another health condition.
4. Lack of Sleep Kills Sex Drive
Sleep specialists say that sleep-
deprived men and women report
lower libidos and less interest in sex.
Depleted energy, sleepiness, and
increased
tension may be largely to
blame.
For men with sleep
apnea, a
respiratory problem that interrupts
sleep, there may be another factor in the sexual
slump. A study
published in the
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
in 2002 suggests that many men with sleep apnea also have low
testosterone levels. In the study, nearly half of the men who suffered
from severe sleep apnea also secreted
abnormally low levels of
testosterone during the night.
5. Sleepiness Is Depressing
Over time, lack of sleep and sleep disorders can contribute
to the symptoms of depression. In a 2005 Sleep in America poll, people
who were diagnosed with depression or
anxiety were more likely to sleep
less than six hours at night.
The most common sleep disorder, insomnia, has the strongest
link to depression. In a 2007 study of 10,000 people, those with
insomnia were five times as likely to develop depression as those
without. In fact, insomnia is often one of the first symptoms of
depression.
Insomnia and depression
feed on each other. Sleep loss often
aggravates the symptoms of depression, and depression can make it more
difficult to fall asleep. On the positive side, treating sleep problems
can help depression and its symptoms, and vice versa.
6. Lack of Sleep Ages Your Skin
Most people have experienced
sallow skin and
puffy eyes after a
few nights of missed sleep. But it
turns out that chronic sleep loss can
lead to
lackluster skin, fine lines, and dark circles under the eyes.
When you don’t get enough sleep, your body releases more of the
stress hormone cortisol. In
excess amounts, cortisol can
break down skin
collagen, the protein that keeps skin smooth and elastic.
Sleep loss also causes the body to release too little human
growth hormone. When we’re young, human growth hormone promotes growth.
As we age, it helps increase
muscle mass, thicken skin, and strengthen
bones.
“It’s during deep sleep -- what we call slow-wave sleep -- that
growth hormone is released,” says sleep expert Phil Gehrman, PhD. “It
seems to be part of normal
tissue repair --
patching the
wear and tear
of the day.”
7. Sleepiness Makes You Forgetful
Trying to keep your memory sharp? Try getting
plenty of sleep.
In 2009, American and French researchers determined that brain
events called “sharp
wave ripples” are responsible for
consolidating
memory. The ripples also transfer learned information from the
hippocampus to the neocortex of the brain, where long-term memories are
stored. Sharp wave ripples
occur mostly during the deepest levels of
sleep.
8. Losing Sleep Can Make You Gain Weight
When it comes to body weight, it may be that if you
snooze,
you lose. Lack of sleep seems to be related to an increase in hunger
and appetite, and possibly to obesity. According to a 2004 study, people
who sleep less than six hours a day were almost 30 percent more likely
to become obese than those who slept seven to nine hours.
Recent research has focused on the link between sleep and the
peptides that regulate appetite. “Ghrelin stimulates hunger and leptin
signals
satiety to the brain and suppresses appetite,” says Siebern.
“Shortened sleep time is
associated with decreases in leptin and
elevations in ghrelin.”
Not only does sleep loss
appear to stimulate appetite. It also
stimulates
cravings for high-fat, high-carbohydrate foods. Ongoing
studies are
considering whether
adequate sleep should be a standard part
of weight loss programs.
9. Lack of Sleep May Increase Risk of Death
In the “Whitehall II Study,” British researchers looked at how
sleep
patterns affected the
mortality of more than 10,000 British
civil
servants over two decades. The results, published in 2007, showed that
those who had cut their sleep from seven to five hours or fewer a night
nearly doubled their risk of death from all causes. In particular, lack
of sleep doubled the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
10. Sleep Loss Impairs Judgment, Especially About Sleep
Lack of sleep can
affect our interpretation of events. This hurts
our ability to make sound
judgments because we may not assess
situations
accurately and act on them
wisely.
Sleep-deprived people seem to be especially
prone to poor
judgment when it comes to
assessing what lack of sleep is doing to them.
In our increasingly fast-paced world, functioning on less sleep has
become a kind of
badge of honor. But sleep specialists say if you think
you’re doing fine on less sleep, you’re probably wrong. And if you work
in a profession where it’s important to be able to judge your level of
functioning, this can be a big problem.
“Studies show that over time, people who are getting six hours of
sleep, instead of seven or eight, begin to feel that they’ve adapted to
that sleep deprivation -- they’ve gotten used to it,” Gehrman says.
“But if you look at how they actually do on tests of mental alertness
and performance, they continue to go
downhill. So there’s a point in
sleep deprivation when we lose touch with how impaired we are.”
grumpy - gderliwy, zrzędliwy
foggy - mglisty
ability - zdolność (np. chodzenia); umiejętności
cause - przyczyna (osoba, wydarzenie, rzecz powodująca coś); przyczyna, powód
deprivation - ograniczenie (dostęp do czegoś), brak (np. snu); utrata (np. prawa), pozbawienie (np. wolności)
sleep deprivation - niedobór snu
factor - czynnik; współczynnik, stopień
many factors contributed to this decision - wiele czynników przyczyniło się do tej decyzji.
spill - rozlać (coś), rozlewać (się); wylewać się (np. tłum ludzi); rozsypać
meltdown - topnienie rdzenia reaktora nukleranego; krach finansowy
drowsiness - senność
estimate - określać w przybliżeniu, szacować; oceniać
fatigue - zmęczenie
lead - prowadzić, przewodniczyć
injury - uraz, uszkodzenie, kontuzja; krzywda, obraza, szkoda
complain - narzekać' skarżyć się, składać skargę
excessive - nadmierny; wygórowany
daytime - dzień (między świtaniem a zachodem słońca)
sleepiness - senność
significantly - znacząco, znacznie
particularly - szczególnie, w szczególności
dumb - durny, głupi (o sobie); idiotyczny (np. o czyimś pytaniu)
cognitive - poznawczy
impair - zaszkodzić, pogarszać, wpływać ujemnie (np. na zdrowie)
alertness - czujność, pogotowie, gotowość
efficiently - sprawnie, efektywnie, wydajnie, skutecznie
various (skrót var. ) - przeróżny, rozliczny, rozmaity, różny
of various kind - róznego rodzaju
in various ways - na różne sposoby
on various occasions - przy różnych okazjach
consolidate - utrwalać, umacniać; konsolidować, scalać, łączyć (np. przedsiębiorstwa)
deprivation - ograniczanie (dostępu do czegoś), brak (np. snu)
disorder - choroba; zaburzenia; nieporządek, nieład
heart disease - choroba serca
heart failure - uszkodzenie serca; niewydolność serca
heartbeat - uderzenie serca, bicie serca
stroke - udar mózgu (wylew krwi do mózgu)
insomnia - bezsenność
fall asleep - zasnąć, zapaść w sen, zasypiać
deprived - pozbawiony (czegoś), w gorszej sytuacji ekonomicznej (o rejonie, obszarze)
depleted - zubożony, uszczuplony
tension - napięcie (napięta atmosfera), napięcie (napięte stosunki, np. między krajami)
blame - obwiniać, winić, potępić
apnea (british
apnoea) - bezdech
respiratory - oddechowy, płucny (np. układ)
slump - osunąć się, zapaść się
abnormally - wyjątkowo, niezwykle; anormalnie, nieprawidłowo
over time - w trakcie, z czasem
anxiety - niepokój, obawa, lęk (uczucie niepokoju)
feed on sth - żywić się czymś
aggravate - pogarszać (np. sytuację), utrudniać (zrobienie czegoś); zdenerwować, rozdrażnić, zirytować
treat - brać, rozważać, traktować
sallow - blady (np. o kimś, kto wygląda na chorego), ziemisty (kolor, o cerze)
puffy - spuchnięty, opuchnięty, obrzmiały (o części ciała); podpuchnięty (o oczach); nadęty, napuszony (np. o sobie); puszysty (np. chmury)
turn out - okazać się, stać się; przyjść, pojawić się; zwlec się z wyra, wstać
lackluster (British -
lacklustre) - nijaki, bez wyrazu, bez życia; nudny jak flaki z olejem
excess - nadmiar, nadwyżka (np. bagażu, produkcji); franszczyzna, udział własny
break down - popsuć się, zepsuć; załamywać się (np. niegocjacje, sojusz; psychicznie, na zdrowiu)
muscle mass - masa mięśniowa
bone - kość
tissue - tkanka
patching - łatanie
wear and tear - normalne zużycie w trakcie eksploatacji
plenty - mnóstwo, dużo, wiele; bardzo
wave - fala
ripple - plusk, zmarszczka (na powierzchni wody)
consolidate - utrwalać, umacniać; konsolidować, scalać, łączyć (np. przedsiębiorstwo)
occur - wydarzyć się, wystąpić, pojawić się
snooze - drzemka; uciąć sobie drzemkę, zdrzemnąć się
satiety - przesyt, sytość
associated - połączony, powiązany, związany
elevation - wysokość (nad poziomem morze); podniesienie się, wzrost (np. ciśnienia); elewacja budynku
appear - wydawać się, jawić się, wyglądać; pojawiać sie, ukazywać się
craving - łaknienie, pragnienie; głód narkotykowy; zachcianka ciążowa
considering - zważywszy, biorąc pod uwagę, wobec
adequate - adekwatny, odpowiedni; właściwy
patterns - wzorce
pattern - wzór, deseń; szablon
affected - dotknięty (np. chorobą, klęską); nieszczery, nienaturalny
mortality - śmiertelność (przeciwieństwo nieśmiertelności)
civil servant - urzędnik slużby cywilnej; urzędnik państwowy
judgment (British -
judgement) - osąd, ocena sytuacji; rozsądek; orzeczenie, wyrok
affect - oddziaływać na, mieć wpływ na; wzruszać, poruszać (kogoś); udawać; atakować (o chorobie)
impair - zaszkodzić, pogarszać, wpływać ujemnie (np. na zdrowie); uszkadzać, upośledzać (np. słuch, wzrok)
accurately - dokładnie, trafnie, wiernie; celnie, precyzyjnie
wisely - mądrze, rozsądnie
prone - skłonny (do zrobienia czegoś) leżący twarzą w dół
assess - ocenić; oszacować, określić (np. wartość czegoś); nałożyć podatek, wymierzyć podatek
badge of honor (British
badge of honour ) - odznaka honoru, odznaka odwagi, medal
downhill - w dół, z góry w dół
źródło: http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/excessive-sleepiness-10/10-results-sleep-loss
