{"id":28301,"date":"2025-01-14T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-14T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/restonic.com\/sin-categorizar\/7-surprising-side-effects-sleep-deprivation"},"modified":"2025-01-15T09:54:39","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T14:54:39","slug":"7-surprising-side-effects-sleep-deprivation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/restonic.com\/es\/better-sleep-es\/7-surprising-side-effects-sleep-deprivation","title":{"rendered":"7 (Scary) Signs of Sleep Deprivation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is your perpetual lack of sleep killing you?<\/h2>\n

\"7Playing fast and loose with sleep makes us feel (and sometimes act) like grumpy toddlers. But because sleep deprivation is the norm, we continue to stay up too late, answer emails from bed and ignore the fact that our \u201cOFF\u201d switch is ours to manage. While we wildly careen through our lives, ramping up our mornings with caffeine, winding down the evenings with alcohol, we ignore signs our lack of sleep<\/a> may be actually killing us.<\/p>\n

Think we\u2019re exaggerating? If you were born before 1970, you might remember a time before people wore seatbelts. And baby and child car seats were unheard of too \u2013 kids jumped around backseats without restraint. Getting people to make the connection between surviving an accident and seatbelts was the same as getting people to understand the risk of sleep deprivation to long-term health. People who\u2019d never been in an accident didn\u2019t understand the dangers \u2013 the risk was easy to ignore because it wasn\u2019t immediate. Sleep deprivation is the same. Incredibly dangerous but the side effects are often too far in the future.<\/p>\n

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If you think sleep is a waste of time<\/a>, here\u2019s a sneak peek at your future self\u2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

7 things your future can thank sleep deprivation for\u2026<\/h2>\n

\"SleepSleep deprivation can make you dumb<\/strong>. During sleep, our brains sort and store memories from the day, making room for new experiences heading our way tomorrow. Think of sleep as the clean-up crew for the pathways in the brain. When we don\u2019t get the sleep we need our brains start to look like Walmart toy aisles after Black Friday. Forgetting where you put your glasses today is nothing compared to what your future brain will forget.<\/p>\n

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\"SleepSleep deprivation can make you sad<\/strong>. Sleep and depression have an unholy alliance. People who are depressed often suffer from insomnia and vice versa. According to experts, insomnia is very common among depressed patients and evidence suggests that people with insomnia have a ten-fold risk of developing depression compared with those who sleep well.<\/p>\n

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\"SleepSleep deprivation can make you ugly<\/strong>. In 2010, the British Medical Journal<\/a> released a study that showed how our looks change when we\u2019re sleep deprived \u2013 and how others see that in our faces. \u201cOur findings show that sleep-deprived people appear less healthy, less attractive and more tired compared with when they are well rested,\u201d wrote researchers. \u201cThis suggests that humans are sensitive to sleep-related facial cues.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"SleepSleep deprivation can make you fat<\/strong>. During sleep, our bodies produce hormones that keep appetites in check. When we don\u2019t get the sleep we need, we crave salty, sweet foods \u2013 remember those all-nighters in college? If you sleep less than six hours a night, you\u2019re more likely to become obese than someone who sleeps more than 7 hours a night. Imagine yourself 20 or 30 or 40 pounds heavier \u2013 reason enough to go to bed early tonight?<\/p>\n

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\"SleepSleep deprivation can kill your sex drive<\/strong>. Both men and women report the death of their libidos after long-term sleep loss. Dr. La Puma<\/a> says, \u201cTestosterone, in men and women, helps build strength, muscle mass and bone density, as well as revving up your sex drive. During the day testosterone levels naturally drop and they’re replenished at night while we sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

For guys, the story gets worse. The heavier you are, the more estrogen you produce. Talk about an emasculating cycle.<\/p>\n

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\"SleepS<\/strong>leep deprivation can put you at risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, a heart attack<\/strong>. There\u2019s no easy way to say this so we\u2019ll just throw it out there. Denying our bodies the sleep we need is literally breaking our hearts<\/a>. According to some estimates, 90% of people who suffer with insomnia, also have one of these health conditions:<\/p>\n