10 things that happen to your body when you lose sleep

Not getting enough sleep can affect your health, the quality of your life, and even the way you look. When you don’t get enough sleep, you increase your risk of illness and even car accidents. Here are the details of what happens to your body when you don’t get enough sleep.

1. You get sick

Lack of sleep decreases the body’s ability to fight disease. This makes it easier to get sick.

2. Your heart suffers

Both short sleep duration (less than five hours per night) and long sleep duration (nine or more hours per night) have been shown to have a negative impact on heart health.

3. Your risk of cancer increases

Shortened sleep or insomnia (not being able to sleep) is associated with higher rates of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and prostate cancer.

4. You can’t think

Losing just one night of sleep can lead to some brain problems, such as poor memory, inability to make decisions, poor reasoning, and inability to solve problems, along with slow reaction time and poor alertness.

5. You forget things

Sleep not only makes you forget things, sleep also has an impact on learning and memory. You need adequate rest to block out new information and commit it to memory.

6. Your libido decreases

Not getting enough sleep could reduce your sex drive. Sleeping five hours or less reduced sex hormone levels by up to 10 to 15 percent.

7. You gain weight

Lack of sleep can cause you to accumulate the kilos. People who sleep less than five hours each night are more likely to be overweight or obese.

8. Your risk of diabetes increases

People who don’t get enough sleep (or get too much sleep) increase their risk of developing diabetes in adulthood.

9. You are accident prone

You are three times more likely to be involved in a car accident if you get six or fewer hours of sleep each night.** Think twice before getting behind the wheel if you aren’t getting enough sleep.

10. Your appearance suffers

If all these health risks don’t convince you to sleep more, do it because of your appearance. People with too little sleep have more fine lines, wrinkles, and uneven skin color. They are also more dissatisfied with their appearance. Getting enough sleep isn’t just for your vanity, it can also save your life. Take your time to consider everything you’re risking before staying up all night watching your favorite TV show next time.** Is it really worth it? If you want to know more about this topic and the impact it has on health, click here.