21 Reasons to Get More Sleep

Sleep deprivation does more damage than just making you feel tired or cranky. Fatigue affects all areas of your health, including your energy, mental capacity, emotional well-being, and even your lifespan. If you’re not convinced that you might need to head to bed a little earlier tonight, here are 21 reasons to get more sleep.

1. Your judgment is questionable.

Good, clear judgment positively influences all your decisions. While this may not seem very important for choosing outfits or your afternoon snack, poor judgment in weightier decisions related to your career, relationships, or major purchases could drastically change your life.

2. You’re more likely to forget things.

Your busy, fast-paced lifestyle is already filled with too many things to remember, and sleep deprivation only makes it harder to keep track.

3. You’re craving junk food.

If you’re struggling to control your cravings, you may need more sleep. Sleep deprivation affects hunger cravings and makes you want foods that will quickly give you energy, like candy bars and other vending machine goodies.

4. You’re moody.

Lack of sleep causes you emotional stress that may make you irritable, easily frustrated, and moody.

5. You’re not thinking clearly.

Sleep is necessary for the mind to process the thoughts and experiences of the previous day. Without sufficient sleep, it’s like you didn’t fully “recharge your batteries,” and you can’t think as clearly.

6. You could develop severe health problems.

Heart disease, diabetes, and stroke are just a few of the major health issues that have been associated with not getting enough sleep at night.

7. You’re less likely to exercise.

When you’re tired, you’re less likely to be motivated to exercise. If you do manage to get to the gym, your lower energy levels will most likely cause you to shorten your routine or not push yourself as hard.

8. Your blood pressure is higher.

Sleep deprivation is associated with higher blood pressure and a number of other worrisome health conditions.

9. Your sex drive is down.

Your sex drive is fed by your energy levels and your hormones. Sleep helps balance these and can help you have a healthy, active sex drive. Lack of sleep can lower your sex drive, and stress-related fatigue can even lead to sexual dysfunction.

10. Your skin is aging prematurely.

Sleep affects the balance of your hormones, which in turn affects your skin. Consequently, without sufficient sleep, your skin is aging prematurely. This will make you more likely to develop noticeable fine lines, wrinkles, poor skin texture, and dermal volume loss.

11. You’re gaining weight.

You can most likely blame your hunger cravings, your lack of motivation to exercise, and your metabolism for your weight gain. Lack of sleep can cause all of these issues and make your body put on more weight.

12. You’re less productive.

Mental and physical productivity depend on sleep, which means that without enough sleep, you’re less productive than you could be.

13. You could cause an accident.

Your ability to be alert, pay attention, react, and make good judgments and decisions while driving can be compromised if you don’t get enough sleep. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drowsy driving causes an average of over 80,000 crashes per year.

14. You’re less sociable and friendly.

Interacting with others in a friendly and sociable manner becomes much more difficult when you’re sleep deprived.

15. You’re more prone to illness.

Not getting enough sleep can slow down your immune system, making you more prone to illness.

16. You’re more likely to accumulate visceral stomach fat.

If you’re not getting enough sleep, you have a greater likelihood of accumulating visceral stomach fat. Visceral fat has been associated with a number of serious health conditions, such as high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.

17. You’re damaging your brain.

Not getting enough sleep isn’t giving your brain the chance to recover from the demands of the previous day. Your mental clarity suffers, and you could even cause long-term damage and mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and personality disorders.

18. Your DNA is changing.

Lack of sleep can affect not only how you function but also who you are. Personality disorders, health issues, and mood disorders are just a few of the changes that can result from lack of sleep.

19. You’re more likely to get stressed.

Stress is your body’s way of handling challenges, and when you don’t get enough rest, your body is forced into a sort of constant state of stress. Everything from driving and eating to managing your emotions and making little decisions becomes more difficult to deal with and causes you to become stressed.

20. You are less happy.

As you struggle to deal with all of these difficulties associated with lack of sleep, there is little wonder that sleep deprivation can make you less happy.

21. Your risk of death is higher.

Finally, sleep deprivation can even increase your risk of death. Making sure that you get enough hours of sleep at night is critical not only for your mental, physical, and emotional health but also for your life.

If you suffer from not getting enough sleep or if your fatigue is from an unknown cause, you may need to undergo wellness testing. At Vitality Medical & Wellness Center, we offer tests such as saliva testing that can check for fatigue, stress, adrenal fatigue, and hormonal imbalances. With the results of these tests, we can devise a treatment plan to help you manage your fatigue and stress. To schedule your appointment with Dr. Cristy Thomas, DNP, FNP-BC, APRN, please call (702) 731-1200or fill out our contact form today.