5 things that happen to your body when you don’t get enough
sleep
Not getting enough
sleep every night can have a negative effect on your body.
You snooze, you lose, right?
Turns out the old adage is wrong. Missing out on a few Zzzs can have a negative
impact on your health. So maximise your sleep with our simple strategies –
counting sheep not required…
1. Brain
Bookending a long workday with
a gym class and a Netflix marathon can result in you going without sleep for up
to 20 hours. For your brain, it’s akin to being over the drunk-driving limit,
warns neurologist and sleep expert Dr Guy Leschziner. Get tucked in two hours
earlier to hit the suggested minimum of six hours for sleep-induced sobriety.
2. Body
Kipping for five hours or less
increases your risk of obesity by 15%, according to a US study. Fluctuations in
ghrelin and leptin, the hormones that regulate metabolism and appetite, are to
blame, says Dr Leschziner. Have air-con in your room? Freeze them out by
setting the temperature below 18°C: It triggers “non-shivering thermogenesis”
for overnight weight loss.
3. Organs
People who get only five hours
of sleep typically have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and can
become insulin resistant, according to professor Adrian Williams of The London
Sleep Centre. Work to blame? Walk away. No, don’t quit: A study found walking
for 30 minutes, five days a week, can prevent and reverse insulin resistance.
4. Height
While there are proven ways to
increase your levels of human growth hormone marginally (heavy squats, for
example), 60 to 70% of your HGH – which is responsible for everything from
metabolism to hair growth – is produced during sleep. And a Harvard study
linked insufficient sleep to less efficient production. There’s no way around
this one, ladies.
5. Skin
Your body also uses sleep to
eliminate toxins from the skin, says Dr Guy Meadows, co-founder of The Sleep
School in the UK. People who skimp on sleep show signs of premature skin
ageing, reports the University Hospitals Case Medical Center in the US.
Cleanse, then apply a good-quality moisturiser and sleep on a silk pillowcase to minimise wrinkles.
