#HealthBytes: Here's what can happen if you are sleep deprived
What's the story
In order to function properly, every human being needs 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep. But, with the current hustle culture, the bugging need of overachieving, heavy workload, and many other factors, sleep is slipping out of people's priority list. Inadequate sleep can result in far-reaching and harmful consequences that you will never see coming. Here are some of the effects of sleep deprivation.
Heart health
It can increase the risk of heart problems
Sleep deficiency can easily increase the risk of heart attacks, stroke, and other cardiovascular problems. Many researchers have observed that this happens because inadequate sleep can disrupt the parts of the brain that control the circulatory system. Sleep deprivation is also associated with increased blood pressure, higher heart rate, and inflammation, which are all very bad for your heart health.
Decision making
It can also hinder your perception, judgment, decision-making process
One of the most common effects of sleep deprivation is the deterioration of a person's perception and judgment. For example, this may come out as reduced efficiency, lower productivity, errors, and accidents at work. However, your work is not the only thing that will get affected. Your decision-making skills will reduce throughout the day, which may result in something disastrous, like driving accidents.
Immunity
It can compromise your immune system, reduce capacity to recover
While you go to sleep, your immune system produces substances like antibodies and cytokines, which protect your body from harmful elements like bacteria and viruses. So, when you deprive your body of this important time, your immune system gets compromised. For example, your body will not be able to fight the free radicals properly, and your capacity to recover from illnesses will diminish.
Memory
Adequate sleep can make your memory sharper
It is believed that adequate sleep can make your memory sharper. In a 2009 study, American and French researchers found out that brain events called "sharp wave ripples" are responsible for consolidating memory and transferring learned information to long-term memory storage in the brain. Since "sharp wave ripples" occur mostly during sleep, an inadequate amount of sleep can affect your memory.