Harmful Effect of Insomnia

Author: Dr Sv Prasad Manovikas

Insomnia or sleeplessness is a disorder that continues to stay with the person and the person is unable fall asleep, difficult to be in fall asleep, or they may suffer from both. Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder. In insomnia, you get up without taking enough rest. This leads to low performance during the following day. Insomnia or sleeplessness may not only affect the energy and mood but also your health as a whole.

The amount of sleep required for a person depends on the type and how. Most people need eight to nine hours sleep.

Most people suffer from insomnia for one or another point of time. Some people may suffer from chronic (long run) insomnia. It is quiet harmful for the overall health of the person. Insomnia may result in the following harmful effects.

Leads to risk when behind wheel

If you’re suffering from insomnia, chances that you’ll cause of a road accident when you’re driving a vehicle throwing all lives to danger because of failure to recognize an object right in front of you, and failure to react instantly because of low cognitive ability.

Research shows that having less amount of sleep is likely to result in accidents and fatalities at workplace as well. The research shows that workers who feel sleepiness had a higher number of work-related accidents.

Deficit in mental faculties

Lack of enough sleep leads to loss of attention at a job that involves mental faculties: attention, focus, problem solving, reasoning etc. This makes it difficult to learn. It impairs memory and the ability to recall things.

Effects in the long run

Insomnia in the long run is likely to get diabetes, heart attack, heart failure and stroke.

Depression

Insomnia is associated with depression. Research shows that people with insomnia are five times as likely to get depression as people not having insomnia. Insomnia and depression fuel each other.

Makes you older

You look older than your age. Insomnia in the long run may make your skin losing its natural luster, fine lines and dark circles under the eyes. This is all because, when you do not sleep for right number of hours, stress hormone cortisol is released. Cortisol destroys protein collagen, which keep skin elastic and fine.

Insomnia also causes the risk of gaining weight. Insomnia is likely to increase your hunger and appetite and probably you become obese.

Research shows that there is a link between sleep and peptides, the biochemical that regulates appetites.

Higher risk of death

Chronic insomnia increases the risk of death. Research shows that people had sleep for five hours of fewer had doubled risk of death because of all causes. The risk was especially so in case of cardiovascular disease.

Thus, insomnia left untreated may prove dangerous in the long run. See an expert professional and get examined.