8 Reasons A Lack Of Sleep Will Make You Primitive

So you want to be a hero and do it all, two jobs, a busy social life and the inability to say no. Before you know it something has to give and that is your sleep. But that’s ok because you are more than capable of running on empty. All you need are a solid 5 hours, three coffees and a hit of sugar at around 4pm. While in the short term you may be kicking goals with a busy schedule, in the long run you are setting yourself up to fail. Here are 8 very real and very scary things that happen to your body when you don’t catch enough sleep.  

You will experience weight gain

If you think you are immune to weight gain from a lack of sleep, science will tell you otherwise. A lack of sleep not only causes our metabolism to slow down and encourages our bodies to store fat, it causes us to over eat. A recent study found that sleep-deprived subjects ate a whopping 300 calories more than those who had 8 hours of sleep or more when allowed to consume food on their own accord. That is an extra 2100 calories a week, or a day worth of extra food.  

You will begin to exercise less 

The key to a consistent exercise regime is having the energy to do so. While you may be able to work during crazy hours of the night and exercise the next day, rest assured this is a short-term fix. Over time your willpower will drop, you won’t commit to each session as much and your muscles and body simply won’t be given adequate time to repair. Muscle growth and tone with a lack of sleep? You can forget it! 

Your brain will shrink 

Studies have shown that those experiencing insomnia had smaller, less-dense brains than those who experienced more than 7 hours a sleep on a consistent basis. What does this mean for your performance? It means you will underperform in areas such as decision-making and memory.  

You will forget your tasks 

When it comes to memory and being alert, no amount of coffee will fix your broken REM cycles. We all know that feeling we have following a restless night, which leaves us feeling a little lost. That is because REM cycles experienced at the very beginning of sleep cycle help boots our memory and creativity something a boost of caffeine simply won’t compensate for.  

You will shorten your life span

Now at the risk of sounding dramatic, let’s face a few cold hard facts. Sleep is the body’s central repair mechanism, which allows our cells, nerves, muscles, bones and organs to repair. It is a time when our body de-stresses and rids itself of toxins. Now imagine blocking that process for a prolonged period of time. Studies have consistently linked a lack of sleep (5 hours or less) to shortened life spans and an increase in common lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.  

You will be more stressed 

While many of us work to lower our blood pressure on a daily basis by learning and implementing coping mechanisms to deal with stress, a lack of sleep will raise your blood pressure significantly. A study has found that adults who missed an hour of sleep each night (less than 8 hours), increased their chances of hypertension by around 40% over a 5 year period.  

You will be more likely to catch the flu

While staying up consistently may make you productive for a short period of time, in the long run you will be more likely to have to take time off work. Studies have consistently shown that those who spend less time between the sheets leave themselves more susceptible to common colds and viruses.  

You will turn into the office Grinch 

Sure you are aware of your emotions and can handle anything that is thrown your way. That is until you snap for being asked the same question twice and turn your ‘employee of the month’ certificate into ‘the most emotional’ employee award. Research has shown that a lack of sleep reverts us to our ‘primitive’ state in which we aren’t able to process and deal with emotions appropriately. So sure you will get your work done ahead of time, but you will also run the risk of biting somebody’s head off.