The impact of sleep deficit
06-11-2012
We have all felt it at some point, whether it is just a bad night’s sleep, or no night’s sleep, or a week of insufficient sleep. Sleep deficit gets us all at some point. Most of us will shrug it off and get back to sleeping well, but some people will stay in deficit for long periods of time, some even live their entire lives in deficit.
Just as living in financial deficit is bad, living in continuous sleep deficit can be incredibly debilitating and can have a wide range of negative impacts.
Recent studies have found that inadequate sleep leads to deficits in cognitive performance, including the ability to think clearly and quickly, remember things, perform efficiently and even drive safely. Sleep deficits are also linked to higher rates of obesity, less effective emotional regulation, diabetes, heart disease and other issues.
Taken together these suggest that sleep deficit can affect you both physically and mentally. In fact, taken together they are incredibly depressing. And guess what? Sleep deficit can cause and exacerbate depression as well.
Sleep deficit is something we all struggle with at some point, but even for the most sleep deprived, there are things you can do. Change your diet, make your room conducive to sleep and stick to regular routines are some easy and effective changes.
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