Crazy Stuff That Happens To Your Body If You Don't Get Enough Sleep

Sleep isn’t optional. In fact, the more we discover about it, the more crucial it seems to be. If you don’t get enough sleep, it throws your whole body out of whack. You start eating at the wrong times, falling asleep in meetings and can even increase your risk of certain cancers. Yikes. 

Fortunately, there are many ways to practice good sleep hygiene. Start unwinding a couple of hours before bed, avoid caffeine in the evening, and stop eating at around 6 pm. You can also try using sleep video therapy where you watch bedtime scenes such as a sunset or an open fire. 

If you don’t follow good sleep hygiene, all sorts of nasty and crazy things can happen to you. These include: 

You Get Bad Skin

Getting less than about 6 hours of sleep per night can lead to problems with your skin. Those who didn’t get enough sleep had more fine lines, wrinkles and blotches. What’s more, they also had more skin looseness, meaning that their jowls developed earlier in life than they should have done. 

Evidence suggests that poor sleepers also notice these changes. When asked, many report that they feel unhappy with the way that their skin appears compared to their well-rested counterparts. 

You Lose Control

Lack of sleep is also associated with a loss of bodily control - something you’ll know about if you’ve ever tried to drive a car while tired. According to the National Sleep Foundation, people who get less than six hours of sleep are more than three times as likely to crash their vehicles the following day. 
According to research, the most vulnerable group are those who drive commercially or for business travel. That’s because these individuals are much less likely to be well-rested than regular members of the public.

You Start Gaining Weight

Strange as it may sound, sleeping less is associated with weight gain in adult cohorts. Why? The reason seems to come down to how sleep affects appetite. If you get enough sleep, you’re much less likely to reach for snacks during the day to give you a boost. However, if you lack sleep, then you are much more likely to choose candies, sugary drinks and other foods that make you gain weight. 

Furthermore, when you are tired, you don’t have as much energy to prepare healthy meals. Again, this increases the risk of weight gain. 

Your Libido Hits Rock Bottom

Lack of sleep is also a major contributor to lack of libido. For instance, men who go with poor sleep for a week show reductions in testosterone levels by as much as 15 percent. 

You Can’t Think Anymore

Not being able to think is an incredibly frustrating experience, particularly for anyone whose job requires it. You know that you can perform better, but your brain simply refuses to play ball. 

Skipping an entire night of sleep - or getting less than the recommended 7 to 8 hours - was associated with all kinds of problems. These included reduced reaction time, lack of alertness, worsening problem-solving skills and poor decision-making.