24 hours a day does seem like it’s not enough for us to do all the things we want to do.
Which explains why some of us sacrifice hours of sleep at night to complete tasks that are not completed for the day.
We take this for granted and disacknowledging our bodies from getting the sufficient amount of sleep, we’re putting our health at risk.
An adult needs an average of 7-9 hours of sleep per night, and if you’re getting less than the amount of sleep, read this and find out what are the risks you’re putting your health into.
Here’s what happens when you don’t get enough of sleep.
Dark undereye circles
This is the obvious physical effect you’ll notice when you don’t get enough of sleep. Some people call it panda eyes or raccoon eyes. They’re cute on these creatures, but definitely not on you. And it takes lots of effort on sleep recovery and eye masks or eye creams to get rid of these dark rings.
Dull and dry skin
Ever wondered why you wake up sometimes feeling like you’ve been sleeping in a desert the entire night because you feel so thirsty and dry? Same goes for your skin, it feels tight and flaky and loses its radiance? Lack of sleep does that to your skin. You could pack on inches of moisturizer and body lotion, but your skin still feels dry and dehydrated. Oh, not to forget, your skin breaks out too! Wait, there’s more! Dry skin can result in premature aging as well! So if you don’t want to look 10 years older than your actual age, GET ENOUGH SLEEP!
Weight gain
Studies have shown that people who sleep less tend to be overweight. When sleeping less, you tend to skip breakfast and that will bring you to crave for more food throughout the day, causing you to snack unhealthily. Sleep deprivation also messes with your hormones and which can lead your body to think that you’re constantly hungry and overeating.
Making poor decisions
When you don’t get enough sleep, your brain doesn’t function well. That’s when you can’t think straight and you lose concentration. It also slows down your reactions. So when you lose concentration AND have a slower reaction than usual, it’s very dangerous for you to drive. Also, it is part of the reason why you’re eating that third pack of potato chips in an hour, that is contributing to your weight gain.
Higher risk of diseases
You are more prone to suffer a stroke, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and even cancer too. Sleep loss stressed out your body and weakens your immune system. This increases the risk of all kinds of diseases. When your body is fatigue, you don’t produce enough antibodies and a hormone called cortisol, which is responsible for increasing your blood pressure and reduce cell generation in your body. Making your body basically really weak.
Are you sleeping enough?
Getting enough sleep also means you should sleep earlier. A lot of us are sleeping after midnight because we’re probably up catching up on TV shows or online shopping, or maybe catching up with friends. It’s okay to stay up late once in a while, however, keep in mind that the older you get, the weaker your body is. Your future self would thank your present self for taking good care of it by giving it sufficient rest.
So don’t ruin a perfectly healthy body by not getting enough of sleep.
