Opinion
Sleep Deprivation and its effects on the body
The term “24/7” is often used to describe life at one time or another, little did we realize that we were actually creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Blackberry’s, I-phones, Palm Pilot’s, wi-fi, cordless, portable and accessible 24/7 is the way of the world and because of this we are becoming a nation of sleep deprived, caffeine-addicted stress junkies.
Which is what takes us to your body’s need for sleep and the serious effects of sleep deprivation.
Sleep, or the lack thereof, disrupts every aspect of a bodies function.
Starting with the brain; judgment, impulse control, attention, and visual association are the first affected by the lack of sleep. Continued deprivation can lead to the slowing of motor skills, loss of cognitive abilities and hallucinations. Prolonged deprivation has been shown to lead to psychotic episodes in some cases. The brain requires the body sleep. Even the process of dreaming is necessary for the brain to function at a normal level.
Next, let’s look at what sleep deprivation can do to the heart. A recent study at Columbia University focused on the link between sleep deprivation and high blood pressure.
Sleep allows for the heart to reduce output for a significant period of time. Without sleep, the heart does not get to rest. This over an extended period of time may very well lead to hypertension. According to a study at the Mayo Clinic, women may be at an even greater risk than men.
The last segment of this topic is very important, not only because I am a trainer, but because I am also a competitive powerlifter.
Sleep deprivation effects athletic performance overwhelmingly.
A recent study at the University of Chicago Medical school focused on young athletes and how a significant sleep reduction effected their bodies.
Results showed that after the deprivation nights (only four hours of sleep) the athletes metabolized glucose least efficiently and levels of cortisol were also higher during these periods.
Cortisol has been linked to increased body fat storage, decreased mobilization of adipose fatty cells, memory impairment, age-related insulin resistance, and has been shown to impair recovery in athletes.
The importance of this to the typical athlete is obvious, but even the average person who may hit the gym only 3-5 times a week can see why sleep deprivation is something that should be avoided if at all possible.
While researching this topic, I found so much information that it literally took me three days to determine what I was going to focus on for the purpose of this article.
The effects of sleep deprivation on the body are far more serious than I had ever thought and as I read study after study each one suggested we are just now getting an idea of how severely years of poor sleeping habits can affect our lives as well as lead to our deaths, before our time.
So go home tonight, take a melatonin and try to get a full nights sleep and see how much better you feel tomorrow!
Hope these tips help you on your quest for a healthy lifestyle. And it is exactly that, a lifestyle. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at dan4mantx@yahoo.com. Just reference the article in question and I will be more than happy to get back to you!!` Dan Foreman is a Personal Trainer at DCS Fitness.
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