Alaska Sleep Education Center

The Spooky Side Effects of Sleep Deprivation

It is a known fact that a night without enough sleep can lead to a rather grumpy morning. But, sleep deprivation does not come with yawns and red eyes only. Of course, not having those six to eight hours of sleep every night is common nowadays.

People are working more than usual, and there are so many distractions like computers and phones that just distract us when we try to go to bed. There are many things that can happen to your mind and body if you do not allow yourself to get enough sleep each night.

So, without further ado, let us talk about the spooky effects of sleep deprivation.

  1. You Will Not Be Able to Cope With Stress

Not having enough sleep each night will damage our emotional resilience. This will make us unable to handle stress and possibly overreact in many situations. Many people who are sleep deprived will burst out rather quickly.

Scientists say that this happens because the area of the brain that notifies and alerts the body to protect itself in times of danger, goes into overdrive. And because of it, our body can not release the chemicals needed for us to calm down. So, if you are feeling stressed out, the best thing you can do is get some sleep.

Sleep deprivation and stress always go together. 
You Become Moody and Irritable
Well, this is definitely not new. But, still worth mentioning. People who are sleep deprived are more likely to be moody and irritable. They will constantly change their minds, not be able to finish anything properly and always be grumpy, angry and hostile.
Many scientists claim that even partial sleep deprivation of three to four hours of sleep can lead to the same spooky effects. Even with those four hours every night, people still feel sad, stressed out and mentally exhausted. However, everybody says that things became normal once they started sleeping well again.
You Will Not Be Able to Learn
You probably all remember how our mothers used to say that we need to get enough sleep in order to be good students. Well, they were right! Sleep deprivations negatively affect our ability to learn. This is because the lack of sleep prevents our neurons from passing signals to each other.
Sleep deprivation affects mostly college students. They are having mixed feelings, and they are both scared and excited about this new experience. So, if you are a college student moving to a new city and dorm, make sure that you know what The Spooky Effects of Sleep Deprivation (2)you are getting into.
If you need assistance when moving to college, you can always hire movers to help you out. But, if you need help adjusting, try talking to a counselor. Hopefully, that will resolve some of your issues and enable you to sleep well again.
Sleep deprivation can really have some spooky effects on students as it affects the ability of learning and memorizing. 
You Will Not Be Able to Concentrate
This is maybe the most common thing that can happen to you if you do not get enough sleep. You will lose your ability to pay attention and to focus. If you are not properly rested, your school or work will definitely suffer.
Moreover, not only will your focus be affected but also all problem solving and decision-making functions in your brain as well. This happens because a tired brain finds it a lot more difficult to sort out relevant and necessary information from everything it picks up and to concentrate on one single stimulus.
For example, if you had a sleepless night, it will be a lot harder to focus on what the person in front of you is talking about.
Sleep Deprivation Will Make You Gain Weight
The Spooky Effects of Sleep Deprivation (3)You probably have not heard about this one before. But, not enough sleep makes people crave high-calorie food. According to some researchers from the University of Chicago, the lack of sleep boosts brain chemicals for appetite. These brain chemicals make people crave something sweet or salty all the time.
This is why you see people who work constantly or students who study at night, eat pizza or hamburgers or pretty much anything that is high-calorie.
Moreover, scientists explained that people who have sleep deprivation and are full, will still crave some kind of food, and raise the risk of obesity.
People who do not have enough sleep each night will constantly crave something caloric. 
It Will Negatively Affect Your Immune System
Not having enough sleep can drastically affect your body’s ability to fight off illness. This means that you are more likely to get sick and you will need longer time to recover. This is why doctors always recommend getting enough rest and sleep when you are sick.
Sometimes, sleep is the best medicine because it replenishes white blood cells which are of key importance to our immune system. So, if you are starting to fill sick, leave everything behind and try to get some rest.
You Will Lose Your Sense of Humor
Another thing that will be surprising to most people is that sleep deprivation can make you less emotionally expressive. But, just imagine if you were really tired and had a sleepless night, would you want to even crack a smile? Probably not.
When people are tired, they do not care about making jokes. There was even a research conducted to test how people would react to both sad and funny film clips after not sleeping the entire night. And the results were as mentioned.
People who did not sleep at all the previous night showed less expressiveness and their laugh looked slightly forced.
You can improve your entire life simply by improving your sleep.  Call Alaska Sleep Clinic today
@ 907-770-9104
for your free consultation.
Subscribe to our Blog
Alaska Sleep Education Center Email Subscription*
Previous slide
Next slide
Alaska Sleep Clinic's Blog

Our weekly updated blog aims to provide you with answers and information to all of your sleeping questions.

Brent Fisher, MBA, FACHE, FACMPE
President and Chief Executive Officer

“Alaska Sleep Clinic has a history of providing the most comprehensive sleep medicine services in the state of Alaska. Its potential has only begun. I am here to take these high-quality, comprehensive services to all Alaskans.”

Experience

Brent Fisher has held leadership positions spanning a wide variety of complex and start-up organizations: manufacturing (pharmaceutical & medical device), software development, hospitals (academic and community), medical groups, consulting, hospice, military, engineered devices, engineered plastics, and private equity.

Publications and Organizations

His writings have been published in various magazines, trade journals, and medical journals, including the Physician Executive Journal, Healthcare Executive, Modern Healthcare, Group Practice Journal, New England Journal of Medicine, and Journal of Healthcare Management (Best Article Award).

He has served on the Board of Directors of professional associations, civic organizations, and businesses.

Hobbies and Activities

Brent enjoys being with his family, serving in the community, hiking, camping, fishing, and hunting.