Constant lack of sleep has consequences. What are the dangers of chronic lack of sleep and how to prevent its consequences? Life expectancy is decreasing

The content of the article:

Sleep is a time when a person is in complete calm and balance. It was after have a nice rest in the morning we feel invigorated and begin our business with renewed vigor. It is a known fact that a person spends a third of his life sleeping. This indicates the need for night rest for the full functioning of the whole body.

Too active rhythm of life modern man, the stress that constantly surrounds you affects not only the quality of sleep, but also its duration. After all, everyone knows that if you fall asleep too late and wake up early, this greatly affects both a person’s performance and his health.

We have all heard more than once about people who are workaholics or those who have to work at night. Oddly enough, such people soon get used to this regime, but in fact it has a very negative effect on their health. For example, the human brain suffers first of all, because when there is a lack of sleep, it begins to “live its own life,” which does not go unnoticed and is expressed in the form of stress, depression, etc. All human organs and systems begin to suffer, since the brain is the main link in their healthy functioning.

In general, a person should sleep at least 8 hours, but these indicators may vary, since a person’s character plays a big role. For example, energetic and communicative people only need 6 hours of sleep and they feel invigorated. People melancholic type, who have such character traits as thoroughness and slowness, need 9 hours of night rest.

How is sleep beneficial?

We all know that sleep is very useful and necessary for us. But what actually happens to a person during sleep? It is a known fact that a person grows in his sleep. This is explained by the fact that only at night the body produces growth hormone - serotonin. Another hormone is also produced - prolactin, which is responsible for the production breast milk in nursing women. Probably women infants Have you noticed how much milk is released at night? Besides, night sleep- this is the time when all organs work at a slow pace, which gives them the opportunity to recover and work intensively during the day.

As for immunity, it protective functions also increase during sleep. After all, during this period the body produces all necessary substances in order to cope with an infection or virus. Therefore, even during a cold, sleep is the best medicine.

Consequences of lack of sleep

1. Excess weight. Lack of sleep greatly affects your metabolism. Therefore, its main reason is not only excess weight, but also obesity. It is not uncommon to see that people who work at night have problems with overweight more often than those people whose working hours are during the day.
2. Disorders in the cardiovascular system. As a rule, a person who does not get enough sleep has a very busy work schedule. That is why he does not have enough time for proper rest. But prolonged work without rest exhausts a person, he can feel headache, nausea, and if he doesn't get some sleep soon, it could end in fainting or worse, a heart attack or stroke.
3. Deterioration of skin condition. With a lack of sleep, the body's production of the hormone melatonin decreases. As a result, the skin becomes dry, rashes, wrinkles and bags under the eyes appear. Therefore, to maintain youthful skin, it is very important to get enough sleep.
4. Lack of sleep negatively affects reproductive system, both women and men. Everything leads to stress, as a result of which men experience a decrease in libido and a decrease in potency. In women, this affects primarily the mood on which her sexual desire depends.
5. Not good sleep can lead to such serious illness as diabetes . After all, many experiments were carried out, during which it turned out: regular lack of sleep significantly exceeds the blood glucose level.
6. A person who regularly does not sleep at night becomes lethargic and inattentive. In addition, his times of sleepiness and wakefulness are reversed. This could be the reason serious mistakes at work. For example, there are times when, after night shifts, medical workers made big mistakes, which sometimes led to death. Therefore, after night work a person must rest to regain strength.
7. Lack of sleep or sleep disturbance is also in rare cases may cause to hallucinations. After all, if a person gets little rest, it affects his brain, as a result, constant voltages and he perceives the stage of wakefulness as a malfunction. This is why various disturbances in thinking and memory can occur, including amnesia.

What to do to get enough sleep?

1. The quality of sleep is affected by what we eat during the day. It is advisable not to accustom yourself to eating dry food, but not to be lazy and prepare yourself a full meal. After all, if the body receives useful material, it will have more energy. Also, very often the cause of lack of sleep is taking too much large quantity heavy food. The body, instead of resting, must spend strength and energy processing food. It’s not for nothing that they say that you can’t eat after 18.00, because this concerns not only your figure, but also your health in general.
2. You should also not drink a lot of liquid before going to bed. This may be the reason why you toss and turn all night.
3. It's good if you take a short walk before going to bed. fresh air. As you know, fresh air has a good effect on sleep, and in the morning you will feel full of energy.
4. Before going to bed, you should not watch movies or read books that will cause strong emotional stress or fear. On the contrary, you can watch a funny movie or listen to relaxing music. As you know, there is a special set of melodies that have a positive effect on a person’s sleep.
5. If you have urgent matters that you plan to finish at night, give up this idea. It is best to go to bed early and begin these tasks in the morning with renewed vigor.
6. The place where you relax is very important. For example, a pillow, a mattress, and even soft linen should be of high quality.
7. The quality of sleep and its duration are greatly influenced by air temperature. In the bedroom it should not be more than +18 degrees.

One of the most devastating consequences lack of sleep in this video:

In this article we will look at the main symptoms and consequences of sleep deprivation in men, women, children and adolescents. Let's analyze the reasons chronic lack of sleep and what to do in such a situation.

The most common symptoms of sleep deprivation are fatigue and decreased performance. Reducing sleep time even by 1.5 hours significantly reduces memory performance.

1. nausea;
2. fainting;
3. dizziness;
4. headache;
5. chills;
6. heartache;
7. obesity;
8. pressure;
9. depression.

Due to lack of sleep, the brain begins to work in its own mode. Scientists have found that the lack of hormones produced during sleep affects metabolism, and as a result, blood pressure. Then everything happens along the chain. If your blood pressure rises, you will definitely get a headache. There is a feeling of depression and even fear. Due to a decrease in sleep time, obesity may occur: the feeling of hunger increases, and the hormone responsible for metabolism decreases. An imbalance occurs that leads to weight gain.

However, not only this can lead to overweight. Lack of sleep and alcohol are the most true friends obesity, because alcoholic drinks contained great amount calories. As you know, calories are energy, which sometimes can be too much and the body simply cannot cope with it.

Long-term active work and a small amount of sleep affect the general condition of a person. Without enough rest, you may feel nauseous or dizzy. If you don’t get enough sleep in the next few hours, you could end up fainting and even lead to hypertension, heart attack or stroke. Decreased sleep leads to a reduction in melatonin, which is produced at night. As a result, the skin ages and the first signs of sleep deprivation appear – bags under the eyes.

Men and women are equally susceptible to sleep deprivation. The consequence of this lifestyle can be completely different problems.

Lack of sleep in men

The desire to earn money forces many to work two or even three jobs. But as you know, you can’t earn all the money, and you can ruin your health.
Scientists conducted a series of experiments, which revealed the following:

1. stress leads to lack of sleep, hence heart disease, which claims thousands of lives;
2. lack of sleep contributes to a decrease in the quantity and quality of sperm;
3. a decrease in sleep time entails a change in mood and a decrease in libido.

Feeling constant fatigue and depression leads to a decrease in potency. The consequence of this is family conflicts and quarrels, which often lead to divorce. Adequate sleep is your guarantee of healthy sex.

Lack of sleep in women

Just like men, women's lack of sleep is also a cause of family quarrels. Scientists have found that what sleep better for a woman, the brighter her desire to have sex. In addition, the longer the sleep continues, the less conflicted the woman becomes, because she feels rested. As a result of 7–8 hours of sleep, a woman’s body is completely renewed, and in the morning she is ready to conquer new heights.

What to do?

In order to combat lack of sleep, you need to set a clear schedule, deviating from which is strictly prohibited. Only in this case can the expected results be achieved. The following rules must be adhered to:

1. arrange daily walks in the fresh air;
2. eat right during the day;
3. try not to drink a lot of liquid before bed;
4. exclude watching films that can evoke strong emotions;
5. an hour before bedtime, stop working on the computer and other electronic devices(exception - e-book);
6. use the bed for its intended purpose: wanted to sleep - came and fell asleep;
7. go to bed and wake up at the same time.
8. Choose the right thing to sleep on. Poor quality mattress and pillow may be the only reason bad sleep and chronic lack of sleep. .

By following all these rules, you will forget about lack of sleep, and your life will be filled with new colors.

If you cannot wake up on time without “outside” help, this is a sign that you are not getting enough sleep. If every morning, before work, your alarm clock simply “pulls” you out of your deep sleep or you feel the need to sleep “a little more” every time he calls - you are chronically sleep-deprived. Do you want to sleep longer on a day off when you go to bed at your usual time? So, let's look at the telltale signs of chronic sleep deprivation.

Reduced decision-making ability

Chronic sleep deprivation impairs our ability to make minor decisions. This even applies to completely unimportant things, for example, where to sit in the cinema, what movie to watch or where to go for a walk. In general, all sorts of little things.

The inability to make important decisions is also a sign of lack of sleep. IN stressful situations When an important decision needs to be made quickly, this may manifest itself as stupor or panic.

Impulsiveness

In addition to reduced decision-making ability, there is another behavioral disorder in a person experiencing chronic sleep deprivation. Some people, instead of a state of numbness, begin to react violently to some events. They quickly and impulsively begin to make decisions, often without even thinking about the consequences.

Irritability

If you are not sure whether you are irritable or not, ask your loved one evaluate your behavior from the outside.

Your pillow looks more attractive than your favorite(may)

Chronic lack of sleep can lead to decreased sex hormones and increased levels of stress hormones, which naturally subsequently reduces sexual desire.

Do you get sick often?

How many times did you get sick last year? If you can't remember, but you know you got sick quite often, then your immune system is probably not working properly. Your body needs proper rest in order for you to the immune system functioned at an optimal level.

Often you can't remember

If you can't figure out what's wrong with your memory Lately, lack of sleep may be to blame. Good dream- the key to proper brain function.

Inability to concentrate

Our ability to concentrate directly depends on proper rest. Lack of sleep can lead to poor academic performance, decreased productivity at work, and increased distractibility. Also, by a sluggish gaze directed at nowhere, one can determine that a person is chronically sleep-deprived.

Clumsiness

If you don't know what's wrong with your sense of coordination, it's possible that the problem lies in lack of sleep. People deprived of proper sleep are more clumsy than drunk people. For lovers computer games Please note: midnight “battles” impair your coordination.

Nodding or microsleeping

When we don't give our body the rest it needs, it will steal it from us. At the wrong time, we can simply switch off and not even know that it happened to us. More than half of drivers admit that they have nodded off while driving at least once, in most cases simply continuing to drive. If you fall asleep for short periods of time during the day, your body is trying to tell you something.

An adult's sleep duration should be 7-8 hours. This is the time the body needs to full recovery. But how often a couple of hours are not enough to complete all the planned tasks. Naturally, this time is “stolen” at the expense of rest. As a result, there is chronic lack of sleep. What are the health risks of this condition?

What is chronic sleep deprivation?

First, let's figure out what condition can be attributed to this pathology. A person who does not get enough sleep every day for several days or even weeks suffers from sleep deficiency. But talk about chronic pathology It's still too early. Of course he faces first negative signs this phenomenon. But chronic lack of sleep manifests itself in all its glory when a person limits his rest for several months.

A study was recently conducted at the University of Texas. It showed that residents who did not receive required quantity sleep, had genetic changes. Such violations lead to the development serious problems with health. This is a disease of memory loss.

Therefore, people who sleep 6 hours a night, and sometimes less, should be aware of the serious risks to which they expose their body.

Reasons for constant lack of sleep

Insufficient night rest can be caused by both internal and external factors. TO internal reasons include a variety of psychological or physiological problems. And the external ones are various circumstances, which do not allow you to go to bed on time or have a full rest.

Let's consider the most basic factors that most often lead to such a phenomenon as chronic lack of sleep.

Reasons for poor quality night rest:

1. Stress. This is the most common reason for inadequate rest. The nature of insomnia may be due to unpleasant memories, problems at work or in personal life, financial or financial. These factors lead to a decrease in the production of melatonin in the body. Instead, the synthesis of adrenaline increases. This is what leads to overexcitation nervous system and causes problems with falling asleep.
2. Mental illnesses. Sometimes insomnia is a symptom of various abnormalities. It may indicate the development of psychosis, neurosis, manic disorder, prolonged depression.
3. Physiological ailments. Very often they cause insomnia in older people. Although even children are not protected from such pathologies. Diseases can worsen in the evening or at night. It gets in the way falling asleep quickly. Sometimes unpleasant symptoms make you wake up at night. Most often, chronic lack of sleep occurs against the background of the following diseases: diathesis, enuresis, angina pectoris, syndrome restless legs, hormonal imbalance, joint disease (arthrosis, arthritis), hypertension, obstructive apnea.
4. Failure of biological rhythms. All human systems are designed in such a way that between approximately 8 and 10 pm the processes occurring in the body begin to slow down. This causes the person to relax and fall asleep. If long time this moment is ignored and the person does not go to bed at the proper time, then a violation occurs biological rhythm. As a result, a person tosses and turns in bed for a long time and cannot sleep.

Main symptoms

With chronic sleep deprivation, the person’s condition is a bit like alcohol intoxication. Such a person is drowsy, she may experience hallucinations and even confusion.

Doctors are examining this state as a disease - sleep disorder. The body is not able to fully recover. This leads to a number of negative violations. First of all, it is reflected in appearance, general condition and a person’s character is chronic lack of sleep.

Symptoms affecting the nervous system:

• inattention;
• depression and apathy;
• irritability;
• increased emotionality (unreasonable tears or inappropriate laughter);
• inability to concentrate;
• decreased cognitive abilities (thinking, speech, memory).

Signs of lack of sleep that affect your appearance:

• swelling of the eyelids;
• redness of the whites of the eyes;
• pale or sallow skin color;
• education dark circles under the eyes;
• Quite unkempt looking.

Symptoms affecting body systems:

• dizziness, headache;
• deterioration in functioning digestive tract(diarrhea, constipation);
• nausea, flatulence;
• exacerbation of chronic ailments;
• decreased immunity;
• susceptibility to colds.

What does lack of sleep lead to?

This condition is quite dangerous. After all, the body may try to compensate for the lack of rest. In other words, a person can fall asleep at any moment, regardless of whether he is at work or driving.

However, this is not the only one negative factor, which can result from chronic lack of sleep. The consequences of neglecting rest for a long time can be much more serious.

Doctors, having carefully studied this condition, claim that chronic lack of sleep can provoke:

• stroke;
• obesity;
• diabetes;
• serious memory impairment (up to loss of brain tissue);
• weakening of the immune system;
• the appearance of heart disease;
• breast or intestinal cancer;
• hypertensive crisis;
• chronic fatigue syndrome;
• the appearance of depression.

Now, knowing what chronic lack of sleep leads to, let's look at how to get rid of this condition.

1. Choose a mattress with medium firmness.
2. Use a low pillow.
3. Underwear and bed linen should be made from natural fabrics.
4. Eliminate irritating factors(clock ticking, draft, flashing electronic sensor).
5. Avoid watching movies or reading negative books before bed.
6. 3-4 hours before rest, give up caffeine-containing products (energy drinks, tea, coffee).
7. 2 hours before bedtime, do not eat heavy, fatty foods.
8. Go to bed no later than 10-11 pm.

Basic treatment methods

If all the symptoms indicate that you have developed chronic sleep deprivation, what should you do in this situation? Initially, the cause of this condition should be eliminated.

In most cases it is enough following measures to improve your sleep quality:

1. Eliminate daytime naps completely.
2. Try to move more during the day (walk, play sports).
3. Before resting, carry out procedures that can eliminate nervous tension(watching humorous films, calm music,
4. Be sure to ventilate your bedroom before going to bed.
5. Try to go to bed at the same time.
6. Do not use alcohol to fall asleep. It provides heavy and superficial rest.

If chronic lack of sleep is based on psychological or physiological problems, then you need to turn to professionals. Those people who do not have obvious reasons for poor quality sleep should undergo a full examination.

Folk remedies

Ancient recipes should not be ignored.

Falling asleep and good rest can provide the following:

1. Peony tincture (10%). It is recommended to use it three times a day, 30 drops for 1 month.
2. Green tea with honey. It should be consumed daily, preferably before bed.
3. Warm milk with added honey. This is another one excellent remedy, normalizing night sleep. It is recommended to drink 1 glass of the drink before bed.

If all the methods described above do not help you relax, you may need special drug treatment. Therefore, consult a doctor who will select adequate therapy.

Lack of sleep is so common in society that it is considered normal. However, this does not reduce negative influence sleep deficit per person. It is worth checking whether lack of sleep is present in your life, thinking about its consequences and taking the necessary measures.

The lack of night rest is not always obvious for three reasons:

• it does not immediately manifest itself clearly, for example, by falling asleep on the spot;
• in this state, a person’s perception of reality is dulled and it may be difficult to evaluate oneself from the outside;
• Often people live with lack of sleep for a long time and get used to this condition.

Symptoms of sleep deprivation include:

• fatigue;
• absent-mindedness;
• inattention;
• memory problems;
• inability to assimilate new information;
• irritability;
• frequent ailments;
• weight gain.

Some habits and factors that indicate chronic sleep deprivation:

• the need for an alarm clock in order to wake up on time;
• the habit of setting the alarm clock 5-10 minutes longer after it rings;
• in the afternoon I constantly want to lie down, at least with my head on the table;
• drowsiness easily overcomes during boring lectures;
• everything irritates, even what did not cause such emotions before;
• on weekends it’s easy to sleep until lunchtime and even longer.

Those who forgot something for the third time in a week when leaving home, become offended more often and cannot remember what date it is today, most likely need to think about changes in their sleep schedule.

Violating the laws established in nature is never beneficial. And lack of sleep also has its consequences. They can be divided into two categories: physiological and psychological.

Physiological consequences

The appearance of excess weight

Some associate excess weight and lack of sleep only with the formula “go to bed earlier, eat less,” but that’s not all. The brain perceives lack of sleep as hunger.

This happens because the hormone leptin is produced during sleep, which causes a feeling of fullness. How less people sleeps, the less this hormone is produced. Because of this, a feeling of hunger appears and the craving for the so-called fast carbohydrates, which are contained in sweets. Eating sweets in large quantities contributes to obesity and the development of various diseases.

Frequent viral infections

Adequate sleep is one of the foundations good immunity. The thing is that during sleep, lymphocyte cells are produced, which are responsible for fighting infections. Due to lack of sleep, there are fewer of them, the body’s protective abilities are reduced, and infections take over.

Cardiovascular diseases

Statistics show that those who don't get enough sleep have a higher risk of stroke than people who get enough sleep. This is due to two reasons:

• a sleep-deprived person is irritable, and this has an extremely bad effect on the condition of blood vessels;
• appear wrong habits diets that increase cholesterol levels in the blood - another step towards stroke and heart attack.

Microsleep

Almost everyone was nodding off after sleepless night. This happens because, trying to save the situation, the brain enters the first stage of sleep. It can last from one to five minutes.

This state is unpleasant in itself, since microsleep does not give a feeling of vigor, but disconnects you from reality. If this happens while driving, the likelihood of a car accident increases significantly.

Constant fatigue syndrome

I woke up and was already tired. There is no strength or desire to do even simple, familiar things. This symptom often manifests itself in conjunction with others, such as infections. This happens because the body does not have time to recover.

Exacerbation of chronic diseases

It would seem that there is no direct connection between sleep and kidney and liver diseases, but since the body’s strength is depleted, it is necessary to fight diseases and maintain good condition there are none left. Therefore, sometimes, due to lack of sleep, strange sensations of vague pain appear in the back, joints or stomach.

Acceleration of the aging process

If a person who has had enough sleep is said to look fresh, then those who do not get enough rest run the risk of looking and feeling older than their age.

Firstly, if the body goes beyond its resources day after day and does not replenish them, then it wears out faster. Secondly, lack of sleep provokes a failure in hormonal system and the production of collagen, which is responsible for skin elasticity, decreases. She becomes more flabby and wrinkled, which does not make her look younger.

Deterioration of motor coordination

A sleep-deprived person is on the same level as a drunk person in terms of reaction speed.

Psychological consequences

Irritability

If a person does not get enough rest, the activity of the parts of the brain responsible for emotions more than doubles. This means that the reaction to everything around you becomes more painful than usual.

Touchiness

This consequence follows from the previous one. If lack of sleep becomes chronic, then the habit of getting upset over little things can become a character trait.

Apathy

When you don’t have the strength, you don’t want to take on anything, start new things or finish old ones. Moreover, lack of sleep distorts your view of the reality of what is happening and everything appears in a gloomy light. The last thing you want to do in such a state is to do something.

Depression

All these consequences gradually add up. Hormonal imbalances, irritability, apathy provoke depression: clinical condition, which is really hard to live with.

Everything seems gray and joyless, even those things that used to bring pleasure do not arouse interest.

Indirect consequences of lack of sleep

In addition to the main consequences of this condition, indirect consequences arising from them can be identified.

Decreased performance

This happens due to several factors:

• it takes a lot of effort to overcome apathy;
• you need to communicate with colleagues who are annoying;
• Even the smallest things take more effort than usual.

Deterioration of relationships with people

When a person perceives everything acutely and at the same time feels tired, he wants to retire. People tire him even more. Even loved ones seem strangers.

Accidents and accidents

Lack of sleep in itself does not kill, of course, unless we are talking about long period. But if we are talking about chronic failure sleep in small portions, then attentiveness, ability to concentrate and reaction speed decrease.

The consequences are easy to predict: accidents will lurk at every turn. And statistics confirm this: 2 out of 10 cases are due to the fault of a lack of sleep.

You should think carefully before sacrificing sleep: productivity decreases, relationships with people deteriorate, and the risk of an accident increases.

Watch the video about these and more dangerous consequences constant lack of sleep:

How to deal with chronic lack of sleep?

To overcome lack of sleep, it’s not enough to just sleep until lunch on the weekend. You need to get regular and adequate sleep. There are several steps to this:

Understanding the importance of getting enough sleep

Changing something that has become chronic can be very difficult. Therefore, first of all, you need to understand what good these changes will bring and why they are worth making. This could be a desire to feel better, overcome an illness, or improve the working rhythm of life.

Understanding what prevents you from getting enough sleep

Sometimes the reasons are obvious: getting up early for work or a restless baby. On the other hand, you can analyze which habits steal time for rest. Some people watch TV for a long time before going to bed, others endlessly scroll through their news feed. in social networks or correspond in messengers. Sometimes lack of sleep occurs due to an uncomfortable place to sleep or overstimulation.

Getting rid of the cause of lack of sleep and finding ways to make up for the lack of sleep

It’s definitely worth giving up unimportant tasks in favor of sleep. Firstly, on sleepy head It is unlikely that it will be possible to make them as good as fresh ones. Secondly, the quantity unpleasant consequences often outweighs the benefits of the matter.

If it seems that five minutes on the Internet in the evening will not make a difference, it’s worth remembering how precious those five minutes are in the morning.

If the reason cannot be overcome, it is worth considering other ways. Some have developed the habit of sleeping in lunch break. Sometimes fifteen minutes is enough to fully survive until the evening.

It is unreasonable to think that coffee or other invigorating drinks- this is a solution to the problem. Often they only aggravate the situation with chronic lack of sleep.

Creating a Sleep Schedule

You need to clearly determine for yourself what time to go to bed and what time to wake up. This regime must be followed both on weekdays and on weekends. Then it will be easier to fall asleep and wake up on time.

What time should you go to bed or wake up to feel alert during the day? Optimal time And possible duration sleep will help calculate

You may need to ask family members for help so that they remind you of the time you need to go to bed and not disturb you after a certain hour. During your rest period, you need to put your phone into sleep mode.

The consequences of chronic lack of sleep can be physical and psychological, they affect all areas of a person’s life. To correct the situation, you need to provide yourself required duration a comfortable night's sleep.