When you suffer from a lack of sleep – whether it’s due to insomnia or some other sleep disorder – many negative side effects can occur. First of all, simply getting through the day can be nearly impossible to do when you are running on very little sleep; molehills easily become mountains at work and at home when you don’t have a decent night’s sleep backing you up. Lack of sleep can cause many other very negative effects in your life, from blurry vision to hallucinations. Indeed, not getting enough sleep is nothing to mess around with; it’s not surprising that so many people seek help for their sleep disorders.
The effects of a lack of sleep range from the seemingly benign to the incredibly serious, and can actually worsen a great deal the longer that they persist. For instance, at first you might just experience a general sense of exhaustion or fatigue when you begin having a lack of sleep. As time goes on, though, more serious problems can occur. Your work performance can suffer a great deal; in fact, some people actually end up losing their jobs because their lack of sleep causes so many problems for them on a daily basis. Personal relationships can also be negatively impacted by a lack of sleep, as tempers flare due to exhaustion. The effects of a lack of sleep are far reaching and very real.
Lack of sleep side effects
A lack of sleep can trigger many different, widely ranging effects in you. You may notice that you are much more irritable than usual, snapping at friends and loved ones with increasing regularity. Weight loss or weight gain can occur and can be quite dramatic when you are coping with a lack of sleep, typically because you stay up all night eating or are too tired to eat properly. You may find that you have difficulty remembering things, since memory is very negatively impacted by a lack of sleep. People may begin to point out your absentmindedness, and you may fail to fulfill your obligations because you forget all about them.
For some people, a lack of sleep effects can cause very serious health problems. High blood pressure – also known as hypertension – can occur, which itself can lead to many serious problems. Nausea might begin to happen more and more frequently, as your body is unable to cope with a lack of sleep. Some people experience blurry vision and dizziness after prolonged bouts of sleeplessness. If left unchecked, a lack of sleep can have serious repercussions for your life and for your health.
How lack of sleep affects behavior
While a lack of sleep can cause some serious and very concrete health problems, it can also have a significant impact on your behavior as well. Where you may have once been a friendly, happy go lucky person, lack of sleep can turn you into a zombie who is short tempered with everyone in your life. Instead of greeting each day with enthusiasm, you may dread waking up and may not feel like doing the things you once enjoyed. An optimistic spirit can easily be overshadowed by a negative, pessimistic view of life when lack of sleep becomes severe enough. Personal relationships can become strained, and people may even begin avoiding you. Without a doubt, lack of sleep can turn you into an entirely different person – one that family, friends and coworkers hard even recognize.
How to cure lack of sleep effects
Simply accepting lack of sleep as a fact of life is not only foolhardy, it is dangerous. Nobody can cope with a lack of sleep for an extended period of time; the negative effects it causes will quickly render you unable to function. Fortunately, there are cures for a lack of sleep. Many people swear by not eating too late in the day, or by eschewing caffeine and alcohol altogether. Others are fastidious about getting plenty of exercise every day. Taking a bath before bed may also help with a lack of sleep.
However, there are lots of sleep aids that are tremendously effective; to figure out what one would work best for you, read our sleep aid reviews.
