Surprising Signs of Sleep Deprivation

A good night’s rest and sleep are a critical component to your overall health and wellness. The benefits of a good night’s sleep have been linked to everything from increased weight loss and signs of aging to a decrease in your risk of cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Our bodies are amazing and they have several ways of letting us know if we’re getting the optimal amount of sleep or not. Are you listening to your body, or do you experience these surprising signs of sleep deprivation?

Constant Cravings

Sleep is a seemingly magical key to fine tuning your will power. When you are sleep deprived it becomes harder and harder to say pass on the foods that hit all the right pleasure spots in your brain. Unfortunately, those are very often not the foods that nourish your body and help you maintain a healthy weight. Not only will you find it harder to say no to treat foods, but also your appetite will be in overdrive due to an imbalance in your appetite hormones.

Mood Swing Express

Do you find yourself itching for a fight or taking offense at the smallest of slights then ending up in hysterical laughter only a few minutes later? Research has shown that sleep deprivation affects the part of our brain that helps moderate our mood. Wild mood swings are just another symptom of lack of sleep.

Instant Lights Out

It may seem counterintuitive, but if you fall asleep the instant that your head hits the pillow or the moment the lights are dimmed for a movie then it’s very likely that you aren’t getting enough sleep at night. In this case, it might even be a sign of a more serious sleep disorder and a reason to turn to your health care provider.

Foggy Brain

Whether you find yourself missing turns on the drive to work, you struggle to finish a sentence or make a funny slip of the tongue; you can often blame your foggy brain on lack of sleep. Sleep deprivation can cause mental impairments when it comes to judgment and focus. It’s important to remember that driving while sleepy can be just as dangerous as driving while intoxicated.

Klutziness

If you suddenly find that you trip over your own two feet or can’t hold on to your coffee without dropping it, you might be able to blame your clumsiness on sleep deprivation. The lack of sleep causes you to have slower reaction times and you’ll find that it’s harder to react and correct your klutzy actions.

The damage caused by sleep deprivation can become apparent when you lack just one night’s sleep and become more noticeable if you suffer from chronic sleep deprivation. While you may think that you’re getting along just fine on only a few hours of sleep a night, it’s just your brain fooling you. Do yourself a favor and go to bed on time. Not only will you look younger, but you’ll feel better too!