How Not Getting Enough Sleep Affects Your Body

Arthur Washington
Ms. Glapion
English 1301-18
02 October 2012
How Not Getting Enough Sleep Affects Your Day Many People that usually skip sleeping for the recommended 8 hours of sleep each night or regularly experience insomnia will find that a lack of rest can have numerous negative effects on the body. Getting enough rest reconditions the body and fixes the damage that is caused to the body during the normal tasks of the day. When the body does not get enough sleep, the damage can not be fixed and continues to get worse as each day passes. It is extremely important for people to understand how lack of rest affects the body so that they will be more aware of the effects of not getting enough sleep every night. A lack of sleep can cause loss of brain function, and even death if continued for a long period of time. The effects of a consistent lack of sleep can be very dangerous to the person and others around them. The longer the person goes without sleep, the worse the effects will be until the person passes out and becomes hospitalized or has a fatal accident. A lack of sleep affects different parts of the body in more than one way and in different degrees depending on how long the person has gone without sleep. The largest effects of lack of sleep on the body can be seen on the brain of the individual. Going without sleep for a 24 hour period can result in the person exhibiting behavior resembling drunkenness, with studies showing that people in this condition are more dangerous when driving than people that are legally drunk. People that are suffering from lack of sleep can experience memory lapses, decreased concentration, and hallucinations. As this continues, the person can experience depersonalization where they do not believe that they or any of the people around them are real, almost ass they feel they are living in a dream. Psychotic episodes may also appear in the person which may or may not disappear after the person has returned to a normal sleeping schedule. A lack of sleep does not only affect the brain, but affects money other areas throughout the body as well, People that have gone without proper amount of sleep for a long amount of time can experience muscle fatigue, a weakened immune system, blurred vision, headaches, and nausea. Other effects such as muscle tremors, color blindness, hyperactivity, and weight loss or gain may occur. Lack of sleep has been linked to many different health conditions including hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and many different mental conditions. In most cases, returning to normal sleep each night can stop these conditions but in some cases, the damage is irreversible. There are many ways that a lack of sleep can affect the body and each of the consequences of not getting enough rest can be dangerous to the person health and well being.

Washington