Effects Of Lack Of Sleep On Your Health

by: Kathy Joyce

Sleep is essential to our health and wellbeing, and a lack of it make you feel stressed, out of sorts and unable to concentrate properly. The first question you should ask yourself is what is keeping you awake at night. Most people who experience problems sleeping have anxieties and worries. This could be anything from relationship problems, health, finances or problems at work. Tension builds up in the body making it much harder to relax. It's easy to find yourself lying awake in bed feeling tense and continually looking at the clock as you try and sleep. If you do finally get off to sleep you may well find yourself waking up at frequent intervals, unable to get back to sleep again. External noise such as traffic or dogs barking can also keep you awake. Some people are more sensitive than others to noise. Even the sound of your partner snoring and grunting in their sleep can stop you from sleeping. Often the only solution is to get ear plugs, or make sure that you keep the bedroom windows closed to lessen the sound of any outside noise. Light can also keep you awake. Your brain releases a hormone called melotonin during the hours of darkness to help induce sleep. If there is any light entering your bedroom then it could well stop this hormone from being produced making it harder to sleep. If you work shifts and need to sleep during daylight hours you could try and get melatonin in supplement form. Also wearing a sleep mask may help, as well as having heavy curtains or blinds at the window. Insomnia sufferers wake up many times during the night and this can prevent you from entering the restorative deeper stages of sleep. During sleep we go through several cycles from light sleep when we are still aware of our surroundings to deep sleep when we are completely relaxed and this deeper stage is when we dream. Cell renewal and repair as well as fighting infections takes place during deep sleep. If your sleep is continually interrupted then you won't benefit from the deeper stages of sleep and as a result your immune system will be weakened and your skin may look tired and sallow. You will be more susceptible to colds and viruses and if you get a cold it may take longer to go away. Sleep apnea is a condition that occurs during sleep as a result of obstructions in the airways. This blockage is caused by tissue such as the uvula, tonsils and adenoids which flop down into the throat during sleep. This can completely block the airways for up to a minute during which time you stop breathing. Your body has an inbuilt mechanism that wakes you up if you stop breathing, and although you may not be aware that you have woken many times during the night you won't experience the benefits of deep sleep. There are many reasons why you may not be getting enough sleep including physical as well as emotional. Stresses and anxieties have a habit of entering your mind as you try and fall asleep at night. There are many effects of lack of sleep including problems with concentration. You will be much more likely to have an accident driving, or make mistakes at work. If you are studying for exams your mind won't be so able to take in information and store it. You will feel drained and suffer from daytime drowsiness. You may feel more emotional than usual and have a much lower threshold for anger, as well as be much more likely to develop minor illnesses such as colds. A more dangerous side effect of poor sleep is high blood pressure which could lead to a stroke or heart attack. Tensions in the body from a lack of deep restorative sleep could cause aches and pains. If you are very tense and stressed you could try a very effective relaxation technique which may well send you to sleep before you have finished the exercise. First lie down on the bed and loosen your clothing so that you are in a relaxed position. Make sure you are comfortable and rest your head against a pillow. Breathe in slowly and deeply and then exhale. Tense and relax each group of muscles in turn from your feet up to your neck and head. Tense for about 8 seconds then completely relax, This exercise does work as I have tried it and can never finish it. This could also help to lower your blood pressure.