The irony is not lost on me that as I write this latest post, I am yawning. Yes, I am tired. Yes, my brain is still engaged. And yes, this is keeping me up at nights. I’ll get it figured out, or I’ll just collapse, that is my poor excuse of a correcting mechanism.

All kidding aside, sleep deprivation could be robbing you of some very important features in life. Stress levels are increased, metabolism slows, immune system shuts down, and your body reads this as needing more fuel, so you eat more. Lethargy sets in, and it becomes a vicious circle.

The folks at Experience Life point out what to look for from sleep deprivation and what you can do to prevent it. Highlights are below, details can be found here:


“…sleep is vital for sustaining peak mental performance, stabilizing mood, bolstering immunity, coping with stress, repairing our tissues, rebalancing our biochemistry and maintaining healthy metabolism. Hundreds of biological processes occur while we snooze — all of which allow us to be more productive, alert and healthy during our waking hours.”

“Let’s be clear: Skimping on sleep will not get you ahead — not now, and not later. In fact, getting too little sleep could undermine your productivity and effectiveness, starting from the moment you begin running a deficit, and could set you up for serious health consequences well into the future. “

Sleep is vital in keeping us mentally sharp and alert. Neurocognitive functions, like short-term memory and high-level functions that require us to pay attention to several things at once, are particularly vulnerable to sleep loss.
“If you lose one night of sleep, your mental performance is like you’re legally drunk,” says Vgontzas. “We’ve seen this effect even in people who reduce their sleep from eight hours to six.”

“And that deficit is cumulative: Half a night of lost sleep doesn’t just vanish but is carried forward into the next day. In one classic study, conducted at the National Institutes of Health in the 1990s, subjects placed in a dark room for 14 hours per day slept, on average, 12 hours for the first four weeks. Then, the average dropped to eight hours per night. In other words, they had to pay off their debt before they could settle into a normal sleep schedule.”

“Often, sleep-deprived people walk around feeling grumpy without even knowing why. Some scientists hypothesize that sleep replenishes neurotransmitters such as dopamine, which facilitate various critical brain functions. When we’re deprived of sleep, nerve activity becomes dampened. As a result, we become less motivated, less quick-thinking and more vulnerable to negative moods.”

“During sleep, levels of the stress hormone cortisol decrease and we secrete more growth hormone (a key tissue-repair substance). Without enough sleep, our cortisol level can remain elevated, keeping the body in a state of alertness and driving up blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart attack and stroke.”

“If you don’t sleep well, you can develop something almost like a prediabetic condition — an ineffective use of insulin,” says Vgontzas. As a result, he adds, a sleep-deprived person needs more insulin to achieve a normal level of blood sugar. This means that we wolf down more calories — and put ourselves at risk for weight gain.

University of Chicago researchers found that subjects who slept only four hours a night for two nights had a 28 percent increase in ghrelin, a hormone that triggers hunger, and an 18 percent decrease in leptin, a hormone that tells the brain that it has eaten enough. Subjects reported a 24 percent increase in appetite, with a particular craving for sweets, salty foods and starches.”
“During sleep, the immune system performs preventive maintenance. Blood levels of immune system molecules such
as interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor (a potent cancer-killer) rise tenfold. They decline when we wake.

This system is undermined by lack of sleep: One study found that people who stayed up until 3 a.m. had 30 percent fewer natural killer T cells the next day.”

“Studies also suggest that even moderate restrictions in sleep — such as getting only four hours per night — may lead to higher heart rate and lower heart-rate variability, factors that can affect athletic performance. Higher heart rate and lower heart-rate variability also indicate strain associated with cardiovascular risk. Over time, this may lead to high blood pressure.”

Having trouble nodding off? Try this advice:

• Go to bed and get up at the same time every day.
• Avoid alcohol close to bedtime. Alcohol may help put you to sleep, but it won’t keep you asleep. In fact, alcohol may impair or prevent deep sleep and REM stages. 
• Avoid caffeine later in the day. Caffeine can stay in your system up to 14 hours and can decrease sleep time and quality. Also avoid other stimulants such as nicotine or sugar. 
• Get some sun. Sunlight helps the body’s internal biological clock reset itself each day. Sleep experts recommend exposure to an hour of morning sunlight for people having problems falling asleep. 
• Keep your bedroom quiet, dark and at a comfortable temperature. Reserve the bed for sleeping, cuddling and sex — not work or bill paying. 
• Turn off the computer and TV. Or, better yet, keep them out of the bedroom. 
• Develop a relaxing routine before bed. This may include a warm bath, reading or listening to music. These routines allow your mind and body to wind down and signal that it’s time for rest. 
• Eat wisely. Avoid heavy meals right before bedtime. But don’t go to bed hungry. Eat a light bedtime snack if hunger strikes in the evening. 
• Clear your mind. Make a to-do list for the next day and then set it aside. Don’t make bedtime the time to solve your problems. Wake up with a thought? Write it down immediately so you don’t stay awake trying to remember it. 
• Don’t lie in bed awake. If you can’t fall asleep within 30 minutes, go to another room and do something restful until you feel sleepy.