Lack of sleep side effects

Every person should know the importance of sleep and how it can affect him or her if he or she does not get enough hours of sleep. In spite of this, there are some individuals that manage only a couple of hours during the night. Reasons for this differ as some people cannot sleep for more than that while others cannot because of their schedules. People who cannot sleep should see a doctor because it is probably a medical problem and it can be cured somehow. On the other hand, people who do not sleep enough because of the busy life they are leading should know that it is all up to them to introduce more sleep into their routine.

Stress, the burden of work, anxiety and fear are the usual causes of insomnia. Chronic insomnia is when a person is having problems with sleeping for a longer period of time. A person who does not get enough sleep will feel the effects it has on his or her body parts.

Short term effect of a lack of sleep

A person will immediately feel sleepy if he or she is suffering from insomnia and that is normal. Right after sleepiness come such side effects like drowsiness, laziness and tiredness. These side effects are pretty common. Some other side effects that occur include low concentration, anxiety, depression, muscle fatigue and headache. A person may also experience nausea, memory lapse, impaired attention and alertness and irritability if he or she did not sleep enough the night before.

These side effects usually hit the teenagers and young adults. Teenagers have more chance of getting less sleep because of the studying and certain activities. However, a person can avoid these side effects by simply sleeping 7 hours every night.

Long term effects of a lack of sleep

When a person is suffering from chronic insomnia his or her bodily functions are at risk. Some of the side effects that may occur are hallucinations, heart disease, hypertension, memory loss, tremors and heart attack and failure. Other disorders a person may experience include irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, low sex drive, faster aging of the skin and even weight loss or gain.

Pregnant women should make sure that they get enough sleep because it can affect the baby as well. Weight loss is a big problem for pregnant women because it affects the baby.

It is important that a person gets enough sleep so these side effects are avoided. If a person has a problem falling asleep for a long period of time, he or she should definitely talk to a doctor.