.svg.png){kind=icon}
.jpg)
We constantly hear about the consequences of not getting enough sleep, but many of us are still going about our days without giving much thought to sleeping. This is especially true in today’s hustle culture where we’re often encouraged to push through and do more. Over ⅓ of American adults aren’t getting the recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep that their bodies need to function their best. In fact, the average American is said to only be sleeping around 6.8 hours per night.
But it’s not just lack of sleep that can cause issues, it’s poor sleep quality as well, which 33% of Americans report struggling with. Insufficient sleep doesn’t just leave you tired, it can slowly disrupt nearly every system in your body.
Here’s a closer look at what a lack of sleep could be doing behind the scenes.
Our bodies need sleep for many reasons
Sleep is important for the restoration of nearly every part of our bodies and minds. When we sleep, our brains consolidate memories, help regulate our moods and flush out toxins. Our blood pressure decreases, heartbeat slows, and muscles relax. And in periods of deep sleep, the body releases hormones like human growth hormone (HGH) that help to grow and repair tissue. During this important downtime, your body engages in mental and physical recovery and everything rests.
How poor sleep affects each major system
Poor sleep quality and/or duration negatively affects every system in the body. This can create a storm of silent shifts in the body that can add up to some serious health concerns over time.
Cardiovascular strain
Lack of sleep can cause your blood pressure to stay higher for longer durations, putting you at increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Not getting enough sleep can also increase the inflammation in your body, which can contribute to cardiovascular disease. And sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, can affect how much oxygen your body gets while you sleep, which can also negatively affect the heart.
Neurological changes
Your brain can handle an occasional night of poor sleep (we’ve all been there!) But over time, insufficient sleep can take a toll on the brain. For starters, sleepiness can make your reaction time slower. Some experts have equated driving while tired to the equivalent of having a blood alcohol content of .08%—which is past the legal limit in most states—and getting behind the wheel. Sleep deprivation is linked to a reduction in brain volume over time, especially in areas associated with decision-making and emotional regulation. And chronic sleeplessness can put you at an increased risk of dementia.
Metabolic disruptions
Consistently getting less than 7 hours of sleep per night can take a toll on your metabolic health, affecting the hormones that control your appetite and increasing food cravings. In some studies, this led to a 38% increase in obesity in adults. Research shows that sleep deprivation can also impact insulin resistance, putting you at an increased risk for type 2 diabetes.
Immune suppression
If you feel like you get sick more when you’re tired and rundown, you’re not imagining it. A study published in the Journal of Immunology found that even one night of insufficient sleep—even in young and healthy individuals—changed the profile of immune cells in the body that help to regulate your immune system. And people in this demographic are 3 times as likely to get a cold than those who regularly sleep 8 hours. Poor sleep can also cause inflammation, which can make it harder for the body to recover when fighting off an infection or virus.
Mood and energy drains
Sleepless nights can cause you to wake up feeling fatigued and to have a lack of energy throughout the day. It can also cause you to dose off unexpectedly in the daytime. Statistics show that nearly 40% of adults report falling asleep during the day without meaning to at least once a month. And a lack of sleep can affect your mental health, increasing symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Accelerated aging
A lack of sleep can take a toll on your appearance as well. Beginning in early adulthood, we start to lose collagen every year, but sleepless nights can accelerate that process, resulting in more pronounced fine lines and wrinkles as well as reduced skin volume and elasticity. Insufficient sleep can also put people at an increased risk of skin conditions like psoriasis, acne and rosacea. It also negatively impacts your body on a cellular level, increasing biomarkers of aging.
How to prioritize sleep
Help your body to reap all the benefits of a good night’s sleep and avoid the negative effects of skimping on it with the following practices:
- Set your room up for sleep success: Keep your bedroom dark and quiet. And turn down the heat. The ideal temperature for a restful night’s sleep is between 60 to 67°F. It’s also important to make sure your bedding is comfortable. Most mattresses should be replaced every 6 to 8 years and your pillow every 2 to 3.
- Eat for sleep: Avoiding eating a large meal and drinking alcohol close to bedtime. Stop caffeine 6 hours before it’s time to go to sleep.
- Engage in pre-bedtime calming activities: Allow your body and mind time to wind down to prepare for sleep with meditation, a book, or a calming activity such as journaling. Save activities like watching a horror movie for earlier in the day, as studies link that to spiking your adrenaline and making it harder to doze off.
- Move your body: Exercising during the day can help with sleep quality and quantity. A survey of 155,000 people found that those who exercised in the past month were ⅓ less likely to report sleep problems like daytime drowsiness.
- Start your morning with light: Every morning, wake up and head outside for 5 to 10 minutes of sunlight. This helps to tell your body it’s time to be awake, which can help you to feel energized, and optimizes your sleep/wake cycle.
- Maintain a consistent sleep/wake window: Going to bed at the same time and waking up at the same time everyday—even on the weekends—can also help your body to maximize its circadian rhythm for a good night’s sleep.
- Use your bed for sleep: So many of us do so many things in our beds instead of just sleeping. We eat, watch TV, and play games on our phones. But experts recommend keeping your bed just for sleep to nail down the association between your bed and rest. The only exception? Sex.
- Ditch your devices before bed: Blue light exposure before bed can result in both more fragmented and interrupted sleep and less time spent snoozing. Save your phone and tablet time for earlier in the evening and put them away when it’s time to wind down for the night—ideally 1 to 2 hours before bedtime. And ideally start to dim the lights in your home before bed as well, as any form of brighter light can trick your body into thinking it’s daytime.
- Don’t force it: If you find yourself lying in bed and unable to fall asleep, get up, sit in a comfy place, and do a calming activity, like read a book or listen to some music. Then, get back into bed and try again.
- See a sleep doctor: If you’ve tried everything and have been having sleep problems that persist for more than 3 months—and are starting to interfere with your daily life—it’s a good idea to make an appointment with a sleep specialist. They can test you for conditions like sleep apnea and find ways to help you catch more Zzzs.
Uncover hidden effects of sleep debt
Poor sleep starts with how you feel. But beyond the obvious symptoms of noticing that you’re drowsy during the day, sleep debt can begin to spark changes in your body that you can’t see.
Prenuvo’s Whole Body Scan, Brain Health Assessment, Body Composition Analysis, and advanced blood panels help you to take a look at your internal health, which may help detect subtle signs of chronic sleep deprivation—before they progress into more serious conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or obesity. Caught early, many of these conditions can be managed and some reversed through lifestyle and medical interventions.
In under an hour, a Prenuvo may help detect sleep-related symptoms such as:
- Signs of visceral fat build up around the organs
- Brain volume changes
- Visceral fat accumulation linked to metabolic dysfunction
- Stress on organs like the liver or pancreas
If you’re not sleeping well, don’t ignore it
It’s easy to brush off an occasional night of poor sleep here and there. But when you find yourself constantly going to bed later than your desired bedtime or waking up throughout the night, it can start to affect your body in ways you don’t even realize.
You might begin to rely on caffeine to power through your days or chalk it up to just being in a busy phase of life—”everybody has those.” But those subtle signs could be your body’s early way of signaling that something’s off.
If you’re suddenly not sleeping well or your energy isn’t what it used to be, it might be time to take a closer look.
To learn more about the benefits of whole body MRI, body composition tracking, and advanced blood panels, book a call with a member of our Patient Services Team.
