Consequences & Dangers of Lack of Sleep

In a world where technology allows a person to send an email to another country in less than three seconds and going shopping for clothes is as simple as scrolling through items with your computer mouse, it's no wonder that many people feel compelled to do more in less time. Often, to accomplish the growing demands of daily tasks, the sacrifice is sleep. Whether you decide to lose an hour of sleep by staying up later or waking up earlier, you could be unknowingly creating a series of problems for yourself.

Driving Accidents

• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shared with Good Morning America that sleepy drivers are the cause of at least 1,500 deaths every year and more than 100,000 accidents. Sleep is an insistent internal function that can only be manipulated or deprived for so long before the mind succumbs to it. This is why it is extremely important to recognize signs of fatigue, especially when driving. Lack of eye movement, the feeling of heavy arms and legs and the inability to react properly to external stimuli, such as a light signal change, are all indications that you should discontinue the operation of your vehicle.

  While most people would not voluntarily drive the length of a football field with their eyes closed, that's exactly what a sleepy driver can do when nodding off for three seconds.

Inability to Focus

• Sleep deprivation shows in your work, attitude and physical appearance.

  The human body is capable of functioning on adrenaline, which for the sleep-deprived person feels like metabolic energy. This is why you may be able to sleep for less hours than necessary and wake up the next morning with the ability to initially function as if you've had a full night's rest. The truth, however, is that for every hour that you are awake after a sleep-deprived night, your mind loses its ability to focus.

  For many employees, this explains why they make more noticeable errors when completing job-related tasks.

  As your mind and body grows more tired, you will begin to perform in "auto mode," doing actions based on a repeated practice rather than a thought process. In a working environment, this could cost you your job.

High Blood Pressure

• While all the benefits of sleep are still being studied, it has been discovered that a good night's sleep, which is generally seven to eight hours a night, is essential to the nervous system. Sheldon G. Sheps, M.D., a hypertension specialist, explains that sleep helps your blood regulate stress hormones. When your body is consistently getting less than the recommended amount of sleep, your nervous system begins to perform poorly and the stress hormones go unregulated, hence high blood pressure.