You need to get a good night's sleep!
by Kelsi Veik, Brightonian Staff
How Does Lack of Sleep Negatively Affect You?
Sleep is very vital to our bodies function, obviously. But what happens when we lack that sleep or have a very disarranged sleep schedule? A few of the basic affects include falling asleep in class, lower amount of functionality, and it is pretty clear to see when someone does not get enough sleep. But there are many underlying negative effects of losing sleep which people don't typically look at.
The first, involving what happens with your brain. When you don’t sleep you can develop memory issues, trouble with thinking and concentration, and mood swings. When you sleep you are kind of giving your brain a break from all of the information and thinking that it does during a normal day. But when you stay up all night either watching your phone or doing your homework your brain is still going and going. This is why it is harder to remember things or concentrate because your brain is pretty much overloaded.
Next, when you miss sleep your chances of getting diabetes and having higher blood pressure are increased. The chances of you getting sick also increase. When you lose sleep your body has a harder time releasing insulin which helps break down sugar, and if your body can’t break down sugar your blood pressure gets thrown off which can result in diabetes. Sleep is also very important for your immune system, so when you don’t sleep your immune system weakens which can increase the chances of you getting sick.
Losing sleep can very clearly change your physical appearance as well. You can tell when a person doesn’t get sleep because they have dark circles and they overall just essentially look like a wreck. It also affects your ability to do physical activities. This one is pretty obvious because of course if you have to go to soccer practice you're going to have a hard time doing the drills because clearly, you're tired.
Last, losing sleep can affect your weight. While you are sleeping your body is constantly sending signals to your brain, so when you don't sleep these signals can get off balance. One of the signals is when your body tells the brain if you are full or not. So when the signals are off you can either think that you are still hungry and you can overeat or you think you are full when you really are not.
Overall, it is very important to make sure that you get enough sleep so that you can do your best in school and sports. Also so that you don't look like a mess and so that you can do what is right for your body.