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The Effects of Not Sleeping at Night

Long work hours, hectic family schedules and distractions such as browsing the Internet, playing video games and watching late-night television can prevent people from getting enough sleep each night. The caffeine in energy drinks, coffee and soda and the occasional nap won't compensate for the missed hours of rest. Lack of sleep can harm your physical and mental health.

  1. Mental Impairments

    • Lack of sleep affects the way your brain functions. According to the website Sleep Deprivation, "The brain works harder to counteract sleep deprivation effects, but operates less effectively." You will find yourself unable to think clearly, concentrate, cope with stress, remember information and control your emotions, resulting in possible depression and irritability. Your sense of motivation deteriorates due to fatigue and lethargy. Not getting enough sleep also causes your brain to operate in inflexible thought patterns. This makes problem-solving difficult since the brain can't generate new ideas easily. A fixed thought pattern also inhibits your creativity. Sleep deprivation can even cause hallucinations.

    Physical Impairments

    • Your body feels the consequences of not getting enough sleep at night. Lack of sleep can result in tremors, slurred speech and impaired motor skills. Your impaired motor skills slow down your reaction times, making operating heavy machinery---such as motor vehicles---dangerous. Not getting enough sleep wears down your immune system, resulting in repeated colds and infections. You will also experience substantial weight changes---usually a weight gain. This happens because sleep deprivation and poor sleep quality disrupt your body's hormone levels such as your leptin and ghrelin levels. These hormone levels help regulate your appetite. According to the "Washington Post" article "Scientists Finding Out What Losing Sleep Does to a Body," lack a sleep may contribute to obesity.

    Diseases

    • Not getting enough sleep upsets the balance of your hormone levels as well as essential proteins. This disruption of hormones and proteins increases your risk of disease, such as colon cancer, breast cancer, heart disease and hypertension. Sleep deprivation may increase the output of stress hormone and raise blood pressure, creating a high risk for heart attacks and strokes.

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