When people talk about being sleep deprived, the side effects they discuss can often be physical – dark circles under eyes, poor skin and headaches. However, mood and sleep use the same neurotransmitters to transmit messages, so sleep deprivation can also have a large impact on your mind. The amount of sleep you require varies due to age, weight and activity levels, but on average, it’s recommended to get between 7 and 9 hours per night. Not getting enough sleep can affect your mind in the following ways:

1.       Impaired Judgement

Sleep deprivation slows your thought process and decreases your alertness. This makes it harder to concentrate, focus and pay attention to detail, all of which are required to make informed decisions. The decrease in these functions also causes you to become easily confused. This confusion leads to impaired judgement and decisions you may regret when functioning on proper sleep levels.

 2.       Increased Stress Levels

Before you go to sleep, your body’s levels of the stress hormone cortisol begin to decrease. However, if you are sleep deprived, this decrease occurs at a slower rate and is not as effective. This can be a difficult cycle to break as stress makes it difficult to fall asleep and sleep is needed to lower stress levels. Try deep breathing techniques, talking to a loved one or exercising during the day to reduce stress levels before bed.

 3.       Hallucinations

When sleep loss is severe, visual hallucinations may occur as your perception falters. This is actually a common side effect of sleep deprivation and affects 80% of those severely sleep-deprived. The hallucinations happen as your neurons try to create as accurate an image as possible to help you navigate your surroundings but when they become too overtaxed or tired, this image may not be wholly accurate.

 4.       Depression

The link between sleep and depression is complex. Sleep deprivation can contribute to feelings of depression and depression can cause sleep problems, without it being clear which comes first. Without the restorative powers of sleep, tension and irritability levels can increase. The energy to engage in exercise and activities decreases, causing you to fall into a cycle of bad moods and inactivity, both of which can increase feelings of depression. Regardless of the cause, sleep is proven to improve your mood and help alleviate negative feelings to a certain extent.

 5.       Memory Loss

The section of our brains that create and store memories is strengthened by sleep. When we don’t get enough sleep, it impairs our memory as new memories are not consolidated or stored correctly. This can result in little forgetful moments such as not remembering where you put the car keys and can progressively become worse as sleep deprivation continues.

 6.       Delayed Reaction

When sleep-deprived, it takes your brain longer to process information, meaning you are unable to react to circumstances as quickly. For example, a study at a Harvard affiliated hospital showed that losing sleep over several weeks, caused reaction times to slow almost ten-fold. This negative effect can increase your risk of accidents and make handling machinery or driving dangerous.

We at The Natural Sleep Company hope we’ve given you some food for thought on the importance of sleep! To find out more about the benefits of good sleep and how to maximise your rest, check out our previous blog posts or our Facebook page.