From Bright mind to Brain Fog : The impact sleep has on our minds
Did you know that you can potentially go without sleep for almost 11 days? That’s nearly 264 hours and with that time you’d be able to run almost 26 marathons!
While that may sound intriguing, the human body can only go so long without proper rest. It’ll only take about 2 days for hallucinations to occur and before long, you’ll even have symptoms similar to psychosis.
While the recommended time for sleep varies through age, the average adult needs at least 7-9 hours to have a good night's sleep. We rely on the energy we receive through rest and when you don’t get that rest it may not have a good affect on your body
Why you might not be getting any sleep
Having trouble sleeping is normal. Roughly one third of the global population has frequent sleep difficulties. Though there may be some things that may contribute to your lack of sleep.
Diet
Eating too late at night, consuming spicy or citrusy foods that increase acid reflux can also be the cause of sleep difficulties.
Pain
Being in pain not only keeps your nervous system in high alert, The body's natural anti-inflammatory hormone, cortisol, drops to its lowest level at night, which can make pain feel worse stopping you from getting a good nights rest
Depression and Stress
Negative thinking and emotional stress usually peak at night, causing you to lie awake and or even wake up repeatedly.
How it can affect your body long term
If your body reacts that badly to not sleeping well after 48 hours, imagine what it might do to you long term?
Not only does sleeping less than six hours increase the chance for heart disease it also causes high blood pressure. Short sleep keeps hormones like cortisol high, forcing your blood pressure to stay elevated.
Your sleep loss also alters hunger hormones which increases your appetite and cravings for high calorie foods.
Sleep deprivation also makes muscle, fat and liver cells way less responsive to insulin which causes insulin resistance.
This is when insulin cannot push glucose out of the blood and into the cells easily. Insulin resistance is the main underlying cause of type 2 diabetes.
Your brain also takes a toll. Prolonged sleep deprivation can cause memory loss, focusing, and even making it hard to integrate information.
Chronic sleep loss also raises the risk of cognitive decline and neuro degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.
So, while it may be able to run 26 marathons in a row, the risk of losing sleep is much too valuable.
Comments