Sleep Deprivation: 7 Dangerous Effects of Long-Term Sleeping Problems

Are you having trouble falling asleep? Chances are you may have a bigger problem. In this stressful modern world where people work 24/7, there are too many caffeine-full people working like sleepless zombies. Long term sleeping problems can bring about numerous problems. An article from http://www.medicaldaily.com talks about 7 dangerous effects of long term sleep problems.

• Junk Food Cravings - Sleep deprivation disrupts food choices in two ways: First, it dampens activity in several brain areas responsible for appetitive evaluation — our ability to rank different foods in the mind based on what they want, and second, an increase in the brain’s amygdala — responsible for controlling the salience of food. Excessive sleepiness impairs decision-making abilities while increasing our desire for unhealthy foods. This affirms the association between a lack of sleep and an increase in weight gain and obesity.

• Skin problems - A lack of sleep can lead to dull skin, fine lines, and dark circles under the eyes. When the body doesn’t receive adequate rest, it begins to release more of the stress hormone cortisol, which can break down skin collagen.

• Memory Loss - Memories may be getting stuck in the hippocampus — the part of brain involved in memory forming, organizing, and storing — due to the poor quality of deep “slow wave” sleep, which is then overwritten by new memories. In addition, sleep deprivation can cause brain deterioration, which may help explain memory loss in the elderly.

• Poor Sex Drive - Sleep deprived men and women who report lower libidos tend to have less interest in sex due to less energy and sleepiness. Men who suffer from sleep apnoea could also be at risk for low sex drive and abnormally low testosterone levels.

• Heart Disease - Excessive sleepiness due to the attempt to maintain a work/life balance has become too common in our society and is dangerous for our heart health. Getting six hours or less of sleep each night causes the body to produce more chemical and hormones that can lead to heart disease.

• Brain Damage - One night with no sleep can lead to an increase in the levels of molecules that are biomarkers for brain damage. Typically, an increase in the brain molecules neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and S100 calcium-binding protein B (S-100B) indicate brain tissue has been damaged or that there is a fault in the brain-blood barrier — or sometimes both.

• Death -  Men who got less than six hours of sleep a night were four times more likely to die over a 14-year period. Several nights of too little sleep can lead to more than 700 genetic changes that could significantly affect your health.

Read more here:

http://www.medicaldaily.com/sleep-deprivation-7-dangerous-effects-long-term-sleeping-problems-271383

Image Courtesy of stuart miles / freedigitalphotos.net