Negative Effects of Over and Undersleeping

When it comes to sleeping, most people don’t get nearly the amount that they need. Some even go as far as to categorize insufficient amounts of sleep as an epidemic in the United States.

Aside from the biological issues, not enough sleep can cause you too fall asleep while driving, nod off during your work or school day and cause you to have difficulty performing simple tasks.

Many studies show that driving while feeling sleepy can be compared to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs with similar effects. It’s as if you are driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.05 (or somewhere between one and two drinks) for most adults, according to Ottawa-based doctors. The National Department of Transportation estimated that drowsy driving is responsible for 1,550 fatalities and 40,000 nonfatal injuries annually in the United States.

There is an unbelievable amount of research backing what scientists know about sleep and what is a healthy amount. Studies also show that people, who don’t get enough sleep, oftentimes don’t live as long as people who do. This fact is due to them developing chronic diseases. These diseases include; Diabetes, Stroke, Heart Disease, Heart failure, Heart attack, irregular heartbeat and high blood pressure. Fatigue can also effect memory and judgement, two very important aspects in any work place. Concerning the more superficial aspects of undersleeping, it can damage your skin. The stress that is caused by a lack of sleep produces a hormone called Cortisol. This hormone breaks down the protein that helps with the elasticity and smoothness of skin.

Professionals suggest that in order to get enough sleep and maintain a constant sleep schedule, one must:

• Go to bed at the same time each night and rise at the same time each morning.

• Avoid large meals before bedtime.

• Avoid caffeine and alcohol close to bedtime.

• Avoid nicotine.

How undersleeping effects our bodies is something that is gaining the attention of many. But what we don’t hear a lot is how oversleeping can effect us. An excess of sleep can leave to different problems such as; early signs of Alzheimer’s, back pains, headaches, obesity, diabetes and can even worsen depression. Like fatigue, oversleeping can ultimately lead to an early death.

The amount of sleep that we need changes throughout our lifetime and there are many different aspects that go into how much we need. But generally a healthy amount of sleep is seven or eight hours a night. Following these steps, monitoring what you do during the day and making sure you receive enough sleep anyway possible will help you to feel and act more lively in no time.

Forrest Garland 

Sources: CDC, MD health, healthysleep, running mgazine, Business insider, Webmd