What happens if you don't sleep for a whole day? Why do older people sleep poorly? If you didn't get a good night's sleep

They are experiencing an acute lack of time and are trying to solve the problem different ways. Some people are cutting back on the hours they spend on their favorite friends and hobbies, while others are thinking: “What if I don’t sleep all night?” What will happen in this case, we will consider further.

Duration of healthy sleep

First of all, let's remember how long it should last healthy sleep. For an adult, its duration is 6-8 hours, but it all depends on the characteristics of the body. There are also people for whom a 5-hour rest is enough. Children tend to sleep longer, but the amount of sleep decreases with age.

Reasons for not getting enough sleep at night

1. Physiological characteristics.

Thus, lack of night rest can really become a serious problem for the body. Insomnia will definitely affect a person's health. It’s better not to test your strength, not to ask the question: “What will happen if you don’t sleep all night?” - and allocate enough time for regular sleep at the prescribed hours.

Anyone can remember an episode from their life when they had to stay awake for at least one night. For some it is associated with long parties, New Year holidays, others tried to prepare for the session, complete some task, others were required to stay awake by work. But what happens if you don’t sleep for a long time? How will this affect the condition of the body? After all, there may be situations when there is a need to stay awake longer than one night.

Sleep is very important for the body, since at this time all systems are restored and rested. The brain processes the information received during the day and recovers the immune system. Therefore, regular and long sleep extremely important. It allows you to maintain body functions in a stable state. So, let's look at what happens if you don't sleep for a day or even several nights in a row.

What happens after a day of no sleep?

If you don’t sleep for 1 day, there won’t be any special problems in your body. If for long time Once you get out of the stable regime, there will be no serious disturbances in the body. Of course, after this you need to refrain from driving a car and performing other important work that requires concentration. But in general, such a person will not lose his ability to work and will feel normal. Moreover, if you work according to a special schedule, your body will soon get used to the fact that you periodically have to stay up all night.

Of course, the next day after being awake, a person will periodically feel a terrible desire to sleep. To eliminate it, you can drink coffee or other invigorating drink. You may also experience a decrease in concentration, a deterioration in the ability to remember, some weakness and even chills. If a sleep-deprived person goes to public transport or sitting waiting in line, he may suddenly fall asleep.

The next night, many have trouble sleeping, which is due to excess dopamine entering the blood.

So, is it possible not to sleep the night before? important event? If you are preparing for an exam, wedding or other events, you should not stay awake at night. The body will only be more tired, and the brain will not recover from the stress it endured during the day. As a result mental functions will be oppressed intellectual abilities will decrease over time. Signs of inattention and absent-mindedness will appear, indicating lack of sleep. Lack of sleep is also reflected in your appearance - the skin becomes more faded, bags appear under the eyes, and the cheeks are slightly puffy.

It is very important not to lose the sleep-wake rhythm, because if the body does not sleep for 24 hours in a row, the brain suffers significantly from this. The following symptoms are observed:

loss of orientation in time;
excessive sensitivity to light;
incoherent speech;
color vision disturbance;
change in emotional background;
the appearance of causeless and uncontrollable vivid emotions (crying, laughter, anger, rage, etc.).

The consequences of two sleepless nights

There are situations when there is a need to stay awake for more than one day. And in this case, the question arises: if you don’t sleep for 2 days, what will happen? This is a more serious situation that is harder for the body to tolerate. Not only symptoms of drowsiness may be observed, but also obvious disturbances in performance internal organs, in particular, the gastrointestinal tract. Patients complain of diarrhea, heartburn and other dyspeptic symptoms. In addition, the appetite becomes stronger, a person wants to eat fatty and salty foods. When experiencing stress, the body begins to overproduce hormones responsible for the wakefulness cycle. What’s interesting is that if a person doesn’t sleep for more than a day, it will be difficult for him to fall asleep later.

After 2 sleepless nights, metabolic disorders in the body are observed, in particular, glucose metabolism. The immune system also deteriorates, so viral diseases after such insomnia they occur more and more often.

The result of two nights of insomnia is the following:

inattention;
absent-mindedness;
deterioration of speech;
a sharp decrease in concentration;
coordination of movements worsens;
a sharp decrease in cognitive abilities.

Consequence of three days of insomnia

If you don't sleep all night for 3 days in a row, the consequences will be even more serious than in the previous two cases. The symptoms are the same, but more pronounced. Movements become even more coordinated and are observed strong problems with speech, sometimes a nervous tic appears. You also lose your appetite and experience regular nausea. Patients also note other symptoms - coldness in the hands, chills in general. Often, those who do not get enough sleep focus their gaze on a specific object and cannot take it away from this point.

If you don't sleep for 3 days or more, a person may experience failures. That is, at some time his brain may turn off and fall asleep for a short period. This is due to the shutdown of a number of control areas of the brain, that is, this is not a full-fledged sleep. So, a person can switch off and not notice how he passed 5 stations on the metro. Sometimes the purpose of a trip is forgotten, and you may not notice how a certain section was covered.

If you don't sleep for 4 days

Not everyone knows what will happen to the brain if you don’t sleep for 4 days. And this is understandable, because such a test is very difficult for the body and not everyone has passed it. It is enough not to sleep for a day for cognitive abilities to temporarily decrease by 30%; after two days the decrease will be 60%. Considering such dynamics, it becomes clear that after 4 days of wakefulness, the consciousness will be quite confused, and the body will be exhausted. The person will be very irritable and will experience a significant deterioration in appearance tremor of the limbs will appear. Outwardly, such a patient will look much older than his age.

Consequences of 5 days of lack of sleep

If you don't sleep for 5 days, the patient will begin to suffer from paranoia and hallucinations. Often noted panic attacks for any reason. In this case, the patient has cold sweat, heartbeat increases.

Due to 5 days of wakefulness, the neural activity of the brain slows down significantly, which affects the functioning of the entire body.

Particularly affected by such experiments are the areas of the parietal zone responsible for logic and computational abilities. After a period of sleeplessness, a person cannot even carry out basic mathematical operations. His speech also deteriorates significantly, which is associated with disorders in the temporal lobe. When it comes to hallucinations, they can be auditory, visual, or dream-like.

What happens if you don't sleep for a week

Many people are interested in what will happen if you don’t sleep for 6 or 7 days. Will the body be able to withstand this load? Indeed, it's very difficult task, which not everyone can withstand. The person looks somewhat like a drug addict, his speech is very difficult, and some symptoms of Alzheimer's disease appear.

Weekends for many people are an opportunity to have time to relax for the entire past working week and few manage to get enough sleep. What will happen if you don’t sleep at all and what will come of it - in our material.

First day

The first day without sleep will not cause serious consequences for health and well-being. However, it is absolutely certain that the circadian cycle, which is responsible for internal The biological clock person.

Circadian rhythms are associated with the activity of the brain and metabolism and the circadian clock is “checked” with the 24-hour light cycle of day and night, so one day without sleep will lead to minor disruptions in the functioning of the human body. A person who has not slept for one day will, of course, feel tired and have some problems with memory and attention.

Second and third days

In addition to the fact that fatigue will intensify and memory function will deteriorate, there will also be a lack of coordination of movements, noticeable problems with concentrating thoughts and concentrating vision. There may be minor nervous tic due to exhaustion of the nervous system.

The degradation of speech will begin - it will become monotonous and replete with cliches. Disruption of the frontal lobe of the brain will lead to a deterioration in creative thinking and the inability to focus on a task.

In addition to the deterioration of the nervous system and brain, it will be unusual to work digestive system- this is a consequence of “inclusion” in long period wakefulness of the body's evolutionary defense, in the form of a “fight or flight” mechanism.

The production of leptin will increase and appetite will increase, especially for salty and fatty foods- organism in stressful situation triggers the function of storing fats, as well as the production of insomnia hormones, which means it will not be easy for a person to fall asleep.

Fourth-fifth days

During this period, a person may experience hallucinations and severe irritability. On the fifth day without sleep, there will be a pronounced slowdown in the functioning of areas of the brain, and accordingly, neural activity will be very weak.

Solving simple arithmetic problems will be an overwhelming task due to serious violations in the work of the parietal zone, which is responsible for logic.

The temporal lobe, which controls speech abilities, will continue to work worse and worse - speech will become even more incoherent than on the second or third day of wakefulness.

Sixth-seventh day

On the sixth day, a person will be radically different from himself in in good condition. Behavior will change greatly, and visual hallucinations Auditory hallucinations will also be added.

Mental abnormalities on the seventh day will acquire a pronounced character - paranoia, hallucinations, signs of Alzheimer's disease, persecution mania, signs of schizophrenia. A person can easily communicate on equal terms with a road sign, prove something to him and be sure that a radio host is hunting him and wants to kill him. This was the case with the record holder for insomnia, Randy Gardner, who went without sleep for 11 days in total.

Randy had severe tremors of the limbs - this is a consequence of excessive exhaustion of the nervous system. He lost coherent speech, and solving problems was no longer his thing; he simply forgot the question that was asked to him.
On the seventh day, the human body experiences severe stress. Immunity will seriously decline, brain activity will be extremely weak, and the functioning of the liver, kidneys and other systems will deteriorate.

Below, especially for those who do not believe in such disruptions to the functioning of the human body, we will present the story of our compatriot, who decided to conduct a similar experiment on himself.

The first day

I woke up and decided not to sleep today. I need to do things that I don't have time to do. 2 am - I feel fine. At the same time I correspond with friends on ICQ.
Got things done.

Second day

At 6 am I felt nauseous. I ate, watched TV, played a game, the nausea went away. Feeling slightly tired and weak. 13:00 pm - no feeling tired or weak. A feeling of mild anesthesia throughout the entire body.

Day three

I'm afraid not to sleep yet. Why? I want to sleep. Stay calm and carry on. OK. He began to speak more slowly. The anesthesia is felt more on the tongue. Sometimes freezes in body movement occur. The easiest part of the body to control is the eyes. I am playing a game. Irritable. Weakly expressed crazy ideas.

Day four

I have a feeling that the day is unusual, very long. I began to forget what happened on days 1 and 2. It's good to have a notepad. Where's the pen?
I searched for 30 minutes. It turned out it was in my left hand. I began to see myself from the outside. The body is weakly felt. Sometimes a “blackout” effect occurs (the processor lags) for 1-10 minutes, although with with open eyes. Delusional ideas are strongly expressed.

Day five

I read what happened to me on the first and second days. I don't think this happened to me. It seems that the day and life in general are endless. Specifically, hallucinations that at times turn into euphoria. Loss of memory and body awareness. I can independently, and sometimes without control, leave my body and fly up to 10 meters near me. And what’s most interesting is that I can walk while controlling myself like in a 3rd person game. Delusional ideas are very pronounced. I do not want to sleep.

Day six

I sat on a chair and looked at one point on the monitor for about two hours. He jumped up sharply and ran to the turned off TV. Started to convince top part TV that I have to pick up my brushes from my place of study. They are in danger. Slow speech. As I pass by, I hit the corners and stop to take in this impact for 2 minutes. Then I turn on. There is an opportunity, the ability to predict what will happen next in an event. It often becomes scary. I see different people. Imagination is highly developed - objects can walk, and I can control them. I understood the fullness of the word Insanity.

Day seven

I am in heaven? The notebook cannot be written on. Limbs twitch and tremble. Oddities in behavior. Vegetable. If a person touches me, then he will be lucky if I answer in a minute or a minute and a half. Due to lack of sleep, severe memory loss continues.
Next, I know almost only what people told me. I don't smile. Facial expressions in sleep mode. Eyes move wildly in different directions.
I decide to end the experiment. I'm not very happy that I can sleep. I don't believe.
Lay down. I leave my body and circle over my corpse for about ten minutes, seeing myself from the outside. The chandelier begins to descend and the ceiling begins to press down on me. I don't remember how I fell asleep.
Slept for 10 hours.

Day eight

I'm alive. I understand who I am. No headache. I want to eat. I want to drink. Feeling of reality. Inadequate understanding of the time of day. I don't remember what happened. I took a notepad and began to remember. I entered all the notes into the computer. I'm glad.

Such experiments with your health are extremely undesirable and can be dangerous. Sleep is a necessity developed over millions of years of evolution that cannot be overpowered, so do not test yourself, but trust your body and go to bed on time.

Sleep is a biorhythm given to us by nature, without which we cannot do without. But there are people who do not fully realize the value of night rest for the body. They try to cut it down in order to gain more time for active wakefulness. How wrong they are!

Lack of sleep for one day to any serious consequences will not lead to health. However, prolonged lack of sleep leads to a disruption in the circadian cycle - it disrupts a person’s finely tuned biological clock. If you don’t sleep for a whole day, the first thing that will happen is severe fatigue. Then attention and memory disorders may appear. This is how a disruption in the functioning of the neocortex manifests itself - the area of the cerebral cortex that is responsible for learning and memory.

How to survive a night without sleep

It is known that even a slight lack of sleep has negative impact on the body. But sometimes circumstances are such that you can’t sleep. Then you need to prepare as thoroughly as possible for the night vigil in order to minimize the adverse consequences.

Here are some tips on how to stay awake at the most crucial moment and recover quickly:

Get a good night's sleep beforehand. You already know that you are in for a sleepless night. This means that you need to unload your body as much as possible. It is recommended to sleep for at least 3-4 days beforehand as much as possible. Then you will be able to avoid serious health problems.
Doze off for a while. Just 20-25 minutes - and you have regained some strength. When the opportunity arises for a short rest, it is better to prefer nap. If you suddenly have 1-1.5 hours free, feel free to go to bed. IN in this case awakening will occur immediately after the end of the phase REM sleep. This will give a feeling more or less good rest.
Let there be light! In the dark, the sleep hormone melatonin begins to be produced. Get rid of obsessive desire You can fall asleep by turning on the lights. For example, placing a light source (a computer monitor or a desk lamp) directly near the eyes activates the brain.
Open the window. When the room is cool (about 18-19°C), falling asleep is much easier. To maintain vigor, the air temperature in the room should be maintained at 23-24°C.
Accept cool shower. Sometimes just the thought that I will have to pour myself cold water, immediately invigorates. Those for whom such procedures are contraindicated (for example, with a runny nose) can simply wash their face. This method It doesn't last long - the resulting charge lasts for about 30 minutes - a maximum of an hour. Then you will need to repeat everything.
Refuse confectionery. It is recommended to prefer high-energy and high-protein light foods. They will give you strength for a long period. Under no circumstances eat a lot at once. It is best to have small snacks until the morning. This way you can maintain your energy reserves.
Drink coffee slowly, in small sips. If you feel tired, you should drink one or two cups little by little. It’s also good to chew something healthy. It is permissible to go for a supplement no earlier than after 4 hours.
Get up and walk around. You need to give yourself short breaks approximately every 45 minutes. Take at least 10-15 minutes to get out and walk.

Causes and consequences of sleepless nights

If you stay awake all night before some important event (high school exams) educational institution, PhD thesis defense, wedding), this will negatively affect the functioning of the body as a whole. The next day the person will suffer from drowsiness and generally feel unwell.

Lack of night rest is fraught with the following consequences:

Some schoolchildren and students, who were too lazy to study diligently all year, rush to gnaw on the granite of science on the last night before a test or exam. Working people are more familiar with the concept of a deadline ( deadline, before which the task must be completed). A person who is accustomed to postponing all important matters for later, sooner or later (in this case it’s late) realizes that the finished project or task will still have to be handed over to management. And then the labor night vigils begin. It’s also good when you can sleep well the next day. But on weekdays, a working person does not have such luxury.

Without sleeping a wink at night, a schoolboy, student or office worker They will literally fall asleep on the go all day. Of course, in such a state there can be no talk of any concentration. And this is fraught with problems in school and at work, conflicts with teachers and superiors.

When preparing for exams or a busy work day, in principle, you can devote everything to this activity dark time days. The main thing is that this should be an isolated case and not develop into a vicious pattern. You will be able to keep a more or less fresh head if you do not neglect one thing valuable advice. It consists of taking a little nap.

Even a 15-minute half-nap helps improve your well-being and slightly clear your brain. And here large quantities drinking coffee or, even worse, energy drinks will bring nothing but harm.

The dangers of lack of sleep and how to improve your sleep

The generally accepted norm of sleep for a person is at least 8 hours a day. If night rest defective, superficial, intermittent or completely absent, this has a very unfavorable effect not only on the mood, but also on the condition of the internal organs.

When lack of sleep occurs more than 2 times a week, a person suffers from feeling unwell and headaches.

Chronic lack of sleep ultimately leads to serious problems with health and even dangerous diseases:

premature appearance of wrinkles;
impotence;
metabolic disorders;
destruction of joints;
increased blood pressure(hypertension);
diseases of the cardiovascular system;
diabetes mellitus;
oncology.

When problems with night rest occur more than 3 times a week, this indicates the presence of insomnia. To get rid of it, you should consult a therapist or neurologist. The doctor will determine the real reason sleep disorders and give appropriate recommendations.

Under no circumstances should you prescribe to yourself sleeping pills on one's own. They are addictive. The dosage will have to be gradually increased over time, and this already poses a danger to life.

Healthy sleep should be sound. How to make sure you sleep really well:

After the fact

If you already know that you will have to spend one or more nights without sleep, do not forget that this is a blow to the body. So get yourself good habit take care of your health - eat right, drink enough fluids and periodically take five minutes of rest at work.

One sleepless night, of course, does not threaten serious problems. Unless, within 1-2 days after it, the mood will be depressed, and irritability may also increase. And here chronic lack of sleep poses a significant health risk.

Hello, dear blog readers! Our senses are most active during the day, we are unable to see in the dark, and our skin needs daylight to make it easier for the body to produce vitamins, so the question: “Is it harmful to not sleep at night?”, I think, is rhetorical. Therefore, let's look together at all the dangers that insomnia or nocturnal lifestyle leads to.

Effect of melatonin

I have already told you that if he is still not sleeping at 2 am, this can eventually lead to depression and loss of the “taste of life”. This is due to the fact that it is at this time that our body produces melatonin, a hormone that regulates our sleep. That is, if there is a deficiency of it, and people who lead a nocturnal lifestyle have a significant deficiency, it is likely that insomnia, nightmares will occur, and the sleep itself will be superficial, during which the body’s resources will not be replenished.

We noticed that after sleepless night Does it take a few days to recover? Go ahead. During deep good sleep ours is finally resting nervous system, the brain processes the information received during the day, and the functioning of all organs and systems of our body also normalizes. What happens if you disrupt your natural biorhythm? You will simply deprive yourself of the opportunity to lead a healthy, active life and feel young and vigorous. Melatonin actually plays almost main role in our body, because:

Regulates the activity of the thyroid gland;
Has a stimulating effect in the sexual sphere;
Suspends the aging process;
Regulates blood pressure, brain cell function, and digestion;
Helps to adapt when changing time zones;
Has antioxidant properties.

Research

Scientists to avoid fatal outcome, did not complete the experiment, so they did not give a clear answer to how long a person can go without sleep, if only because they could not exclude during the experiment such breaks for the brain as shallow short-term sleep.

On the first day, the subjects felt lethargic; on the second, they became distracted and aggressive. On the third day, hallucinations began to appear, and on the fourth, they looked incredibly exhausted and exhausted.

The maximum period without proper rest was 5 days, then the experiments were stopped due to the threat of death, since brain cells begin to die on the third day.

Consequences

It is believed that if a person cannot fall asleep on time at least three times a week, this indicates the presence of insomnia. And if you sleep for less than 6 hours, or with interruptions, for example, in connection with work, where there is a shift schedule, then chronic lack of sleep may well develop. This state is equivalent to what a person feels if he has not slept for two days, that is, lethargy and aggressiveness. And if you read my article with the goal of becoming kinder and gentler, maybe it’s not a matter of character, but you just need to rest more?

Do you know how much sleep a person should sleep? On average, from 6 to 8 hours, there are cases when 5 hours is enough, but such people are very rare.

So, the consequences of not following a sleep schedule :

Immunity decreases, and as a result, there is a risk of developing various infections, which lymphocytes will not be able to fight back.
Stress resistance is at a minimum, so not only the body will suffer, but also relationships with loved ones and at work. Irritable people tend to be shunned, which is a significant obstacle to achieving your goals.
The risk of cancer is growing.
Metabolism is disrupted, so people who have lack of sleep or insomnia are more prone to obesity.
There is a risk of developing a disease such as diabetes.
Due to lack normal amount melatonin causes hypertension, that is, blood pressure increases.
Problems with blood vessels and the heart arise, and the risk of stroke or cardiac arrest increases significantly.
Impotence or decreased arousal.
Due to the impact on the psyche and the development of depression, suicidal tendencies may well appear.
A person ages prematurely because his skin becomes sluggish, as does his health. Hair may become dull, sometimes even begin to fall out, and eyes will become watery and red.
Due to an increase in cortisol, which is a stress hormone, the renewal of brain cells is suspended.

Among other consequences, there is a huge risk of getting into an accident because the state of sleep deprivation is very similar to the state caused by alcohol.

If you find that you have insomnia or lack of sleep, you should not start taking sleeping pills on your own. You can only harm yourself, or become addictive, after which you will have to constantly increase the dose, since without pills it will become completely unrealistic falling asleep independently. That’s why you should definitely see a specialist who will prescribe competent and safe treatment.
If this happens, and you were unable to rest for part of the night, be sure to set aside at least half an hour during the day to take a nap. This will at least give you a little energy and increase your performance.
Take a warm bath or drink a glass of water in the evening warm milk. I talked about this and what types of insomnia exist
Before you get behind the wheel, be sure to listen to how you feel, and if you feel you need to rest, look for solutions, maybe someone else can drive the car, or there is an opportunity to delay the trip, after all, you are risking not only your life , and also those around you.

Conclusion

That's all for today, dear readers! As you can see, the consequences cause colossal damage to your health, so do not test your strength and rest as much as you need to wellness. Good luck and take care of yourself!