How Getting Poor Sleep Can Affect Your Health

We’ve all gone through the fatigue, lack of focus and short temper that comes after a rough night. Most of my patients even feel irritable and tired during the day. But it won’t harm your health. Well, at least not yet!

However, after many sleepless nights, your mental effects start becoming a bit more serious. Your brain begins to fog which eventually makes it tough for you to make decisions and concentrate. You’ll even feel down, and probably take a nap during the day. Here are some of the other health complications caused by poor sleep:

Lowered Immunity

I’ve had patients who’ve complained of flu that can’t seem to go away. So, one of the first things I ask them is how much sleep they get during the night. For most, it’s just a couple of hours, mostly three. What they don’t know is that such continued lack of sleep prevents their body’s immune system from performing efficiently.


I also discovered that sleeping less causes increase in weight. Some interesting insights on sleep from try mattress show that people who don’t sleep throughout the night gain too much weight. I may sound as if I’m exaggerating, but research also shows that they stand at a higher chance of becoming obese.

But what’s the connection? Well, it’s believed that people who suffer from lack of sleep have reduced levels of leptin which makes your stomach feel full. Also, they have a high amount of ghrelin, the hunger-stimulating hormone.

Anxiety and Depression

Here, it’s good that I remind you that even one sleepless night can make you wake up feeling moody and irritable throughout the day. Sadly, there’s more danger that comes with such chronic sleep. I’ve had to talk to patients suffering from anxiety and depression only because they’ve failed to give their bodies enough rest. It’s no surprise that most of them just slept for less than seven hours!


Diabetes is a dangerous medical condition that’s even affecting young kids nowadays. Studies keep on showing us that sleeping for five hours or less increases your chances of developing diabetes. Here, I should mention that your body needs enough time to process the glucose in your body. That’s why when we wake up; the first thing we do is to go pee!

Once you miss out on a good night’s rest, you risk getting type 2 diabetes. Remember that glucose is an essential energy-giving carbohydrate that your cells use as fuel. If produced in low quantities, you’ll suffer from reduced performance, especially during the day when you’re needed at work!

Reduced Interest in Sex or Lower Libido

I’ve had to sit down with couples who are trying to improve their sex life. In doing so, I’ve learned that this is not always their fault. Most of them have fixed working hours, don’t get enough sleep and usually don’t get time for intimacy. Research goes on to show that men and women who don’t enjoy some quality sleep have a lower sex urge.

Another interesting scenario that I’ve come across is men who suffer from breathing complications such as sleep apnea. Most of them also have a lower libido and reduced testosterone levels.

Heart Diseases and High Blood Pressure

Prolonged lack of sleep is always connected to severe cases such as increased heart rate. Besides, if you have weak sleeping cycles, you increase your chances of getting high blood pressure as well as other chemicals linked to inflammation. All these cause more problems for your heart and remember, it is the organ that pumps blood to all corners of your body. Hence, it should be kept in good condition all the time!

Fertility Issues

Men and women today are having difficulties in conceiving just because they’ve damaged their sleeping cycles. Inadequate sleep causes such complications by reducing the production of all reproductive hormones in the body. So, it’s shocking to know that a good number of couples going through such situations are seeking a divorce. All they need to do is treat their bodies with the level of sleep it needs!

As I wind up, I would like to tell you that getting enough sleep won’t happen in one night. If you’ve gone through months of poor sleep, you probably have a lot of sleep debt. In this case, you should expect your recovery to take longer time. To help you out, I recommend you go to bed when completely tired and give your body time to wake up in the morning. Don’t use alarm clocks!

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