It turns out that sleep deprivation was totally responsible for the funk I found myself in yesterday. How do I know? Because I came home after work, lay down on the couch just to “rest for a bit,” and woke up 1.5 hours later feeling 100% better. Yikes. And the worst part of it was that I honestly didn’t even realize how tired I was – I thought it was just one of those funky days that tend to come around every now and again. Apparently not.
Routinely not getting enough sleep can have a huge impact on our lives. Although it’s different for everyone, our bodies need a certain amount of sleep every night, and while we might be able to get away with 2 or 3 late nights, eventually the lack of adequate sleep will add up and result in sleep debt, which in turn leads to a myriad of symptoms that go well beyond simple feelings of tiredness.
I spent some time browsing the net yesterday for common symptoms of sleep debt and I wanted to share what I found with you guys, as well as go into more detail about how each of them have been affecting me…
Impaired cognitive performance. Studies have shown that people who consistently get less than 7 hours of sleep a night display a decreased level of cognitive performance – bad news for this girl, who usually only gets around 5 or 6! Sleep debt is also associated with difficulties in concentration as well as a poorer memory. That’s why it’s better for students to go to sleep early instead of pulling all nighters before their exams.
- This one definitely hits me hard. On days where I don’t get enough sleep, my thoughts feel completely scattered. I have a difficult time focusing on one thing, and end up constantly jumping from one thing to the next, to the next, to the next, to the… Case in point – writing a post on those kind of days usually takes me a good 1.5 – 2 hours longer than average because not only do I have a more difficult time putting my thoughts into words, but I’ll sit there feeling like I have ADHD – I’ll constantly be jumping from blogging, to Twitter, to Pinterest, to e-mail, to texting, back to blogging… rinse, repeat. I keep jumping from one thing to another because nothing seems to be able to hold my focus or attention for very long.
Decreased ability to handle stress. When you’re tired, do you ever notice how every molehill suddenly turns into a mountain? Everyday activities like working, shopping, cooking, and cleaning can start feeling like impossible tasks instead of routine ones, and we see them as being much harder than they actually are. This is because our stress perception threshold is lowered. Sleep debt can also cause our bodies to produce more cortisol, which is the hormone associated with stress [source].
- Oy. I have a hard enough time dealing with stress as it is, and being tired makes it that much more difficult. Everything starts feeling like an impossible task on those days – even something as simple as taking out the garbage feels like a huge ordeal, and nevermind the things that actually are a huge deal… they just make me want to curl up in a ball and cry.
Mood changes. A bad night’s sleep increases our chances to suffer from a bad mood, just as a good night’s sleep increases our chances to start the day in a good mood. Sleep deprivation is associated with higher levels of irritability, apathy, anxiety, and depression.
- I like to think that I’m a pretty decent person, but every day social interaction gets a whooooole lot harder when I’m tired. Not only do I get a lot more snappy, but I have a harder time caring about anything and my anxiety gets a lot harder to manage – not good for someone who’s naturally overly anxious.
Somatic complaints. In addition to fatigue and a general feeling of being run down, a lack of sleep can cause a host of other physical problems and annoyances such as: higher blood pressure, lower body temperature, irregular heartbeat, vision distortions, upset stomach, gastrointestinal complaints, and decreased motor functioning – research has shown that those who pull all-nighters are essentially operating on the same level as someone who’s legally intoxicated [source]. Also, sleep deprivation can lead to lowered immune function, which increases the risk of catching infections.
- The biggest thing I notice on days where I don’t get enough sleep is that my stomach acts up a lot more than usual. It seems to have a harder time dealing with foods that don’t normally bother it, and bloat and wonk become that much more commonplace. Also, I’m pretty much constantly cold and my limbs start to feel like they’re made of lead.
Increased appetite. People who don’t get enough sleep tend to feel hungrier and eat more than they calorically need, which over time can lead to weight gain. This is because sleep debt is associated with a reduction in leptin (a hormone that suppresses appetite) and an elevation in ghrelin (a hormone that stimulates appetite), which alters the ability of these hormones to accurately signal caloric need [source].
- On days where I don’t get enough sleep, I pretty much want to eat everything in sight. Okay that’s not entirely true – I want to eat everything carby and sugary in sight. On these days, I usually end up feeling hungry all day and have a much harder time keeping my hand out of cereal boxes and cookie jars.
. – . – . – .
I love my early mornings, I really do, but even I have to admit that 5 AM is probably a little too early for me. Even though I wake up naturally around that time, sometimes I find that I’m still tired but I don’t go back to sleep. Why? It’s not necessarily because I can’t, but because I almost feel like I have to get up – like there’s so much that needs doing that I have to start my day and be productive. I hate the feeling that something isn’t getting done when it should be, so I drag my butt out of bed and get things done. Sounds very productive of me. What I don’t realize is that I end up being far less productive in the long run because the lack of sleep decreases my ability to perform well in pretty much all areas of my life.
So what am I going to do about it?
Well… try and get more sleep. I don’t usually have a problem falling asleep at night or staying asleep once I do – it’s just the early wake up calls that get to me. That being said, I’m going to try and force myself to sleep in. If I wake up at 5 and still feel tired, I’m not going to grab my phone and start checking my e-mail, FB, Twitter, and IG, thereby causing my mind to shift into go-go-go mode; I’m going to roll over and do my best to drift off again. I actually managed to do that this morning, and so far I’m feeling pretty fabulous. Hope you are too!
Happy Tuesday, friends!
. – . – . – .
How much sleep do you need per night? How much do you usually get?
Is getting adequate sleep high on your healthy habit list? Or does it fall near the bottom?
What kind of symptoms do you suffer from when you don’t get enough sleep?
Um yeah, so working the night shift and pretty much having my sleep schedule PERMANENTLY disrupted, I can obviously relate to each and EVERY single thing in this post! Ugh, it’s no wonder they say that shift work can actually reduce life expectancy…yeah, can’t tell you HOW many times I heard that AFTER I made the switch! I try my best to listen to my body and sleep when I’m tired, but that could be anywhere from 11pm to 7AM…I never know anymore! Sometimes I miss having a “normal” schedule…getting up in the morning like most people…having coffee…enjoying downtime. Heck, with how my days go (when I’m actually going to work and NOT on medical leave), I’m pretty much go-go-go from the time I wake up to the time I get off work and do a faceplant into my pillow. Optimally, I think I need about 9-10 hours of sleep each night and I probably average about 5!! 🙁 Kinda sucks, but honestly, you couldn’t pay me to go back to my hospital on the day shift…the stress about killed me! I’ll take my self-induced sleep-deprived stress over hospital politics and drama ANY day!
Eep! Stress or sleeplessness… it’s hard to tell which is worse! But after seeing a lot of hospital drama myself, I’m going to have to agree with you that avoiding that is probably worth being a partial zombie…
Hey! FYI, I was reading an article about sleep, and apparently it’s a good idea to try aiming for a sleep time that is a multiple of 90 mins (eg. 7.5 hrs, 9 hrs) because the average length of a REM cycle is 90 mins. Therefore if you set your alarm based on this you are less likely to violently jar yourself out of sleep mode!
Oh girl! I hope you start getting more sleep asap! I am MEAN without my 7 or 8 hrs a night!! mean I tell you!
Alright you got me with this post. I’ve been experiencing almost all of the symptoms without realizing the cause. Especially the trouble focusing. I find myself jumping from one thing to the next, to the next, to the next without ever finishing any of them…so frustrating, but because of your post, I went to bed earlier last night and slept in today. It helped. Thank you.
That’s great to hear Meghan! It’s crazy how we can be lacking sleep and not even realizing it – it’s been making a huge difference for me as well.
ohhh i totally relate to eating every sugar and carb in sight when i get a crappy sleep! the worse!
I have the exact same problem! Have you found a good remedy to help yourself fall back asleep?
Nothing sure fire, really, but I just make sure to avoid grabbing my phone and lay there until I fall back asleep. It’s boring, and sometimes it takes a little while, but it’s all about changing the mentality that you don’t have to jump out of bed right away.
Funny that you wrote this post because Joshua and I were just discussing last night how important sleep truly is, and how unfortunately we feel as if our bodies are just yelling for rest! But because of his job and waking up at 4 every morning, it can get hard. I mean if we want the recommended 8 hrs of sleep we’d have to go to bed at eight every night. Which, I do do from time to time (last night), but sometimes your body just isn’t tired yet & it causes missed hours of sleep.
I try to get at least 8 hours of sleep each night and most nights I get at least that–sometimes I don’t wake up until after 9 or even 10 hours of sleep, and I guess it’s a sign that my body needed those extra hours! I like staying up late, like until 11:30 on weeknights and later on weekends, but I need to sleep in to ensure I get plenty of sleep, and I’ve never been one of those college students who could pull an all-nighter to finish a paper. I just make myself stop working or studying at a certain point so I can unwind, and I really notice a difference in my sleep if I unplug from everything at least half an hour before bed versus going right to bed after doing my nightly blog surfing. I think cutting down on the technology right before bed really helps a ton in my sleep quality!
I’ve never been a college all-nighter either… at least not when it came to studying and homework 😉 And I definitely agree that unplugging from everything a little while before you plan on going to sleep is a great way to make sure that you fall asleep easier.
Oy is right. Oh, Amanda, I think you already know how I feel about this post. <3 I identify with every single point you addressed, and I'm beginning to think that the stress and GI distress I've been experiencing over the past few months may be due to lack of sleep. The irony is that my GI distress and stress keep me awake, so it's kind of a vicious cycle!
I typically log about 5 hours (on a good night), but fortunately, since I've been home, it's been more like 6. That extra hour has made a world of difference, however, I think I need at least one more. When you mentioned that your thoughts and attention span bounce around, I laughed, because within the past hour, I've been clicking back and forth between Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, blog-reading and post-writing. I've also been "watching" TV, and I've managed to get up for chocolate and tea three times. Hrmmm.
You've successfully motivated me to get into bed at an earlier hour tonight! <3 xoxo
Oh man, could I ever relate to this post. Lately I’ve been going to bed at 10:30-11 and waking up anywhere between 4 and 5:30, sometimes even earlier. I’ve been a bad sleeper for the past 4 years, but it’s never been this bad. I feel like a zombie on some days! And the worst thing is, I have no idea what brought this on. Ugh! 😛 I’m planing on going to the doctor about it soon because I think adequate sleep is such an important aspect of health – not getting enough can seriously take a toll on you.
As a new mom (8 weeks PP), I’ve come to understand the true meaning of exhaustion. It’s unbelievable what little sleep our bodies can actually function on!
I sent this article to my husband a couple of weeks ago. It’s out of Duke University, with findings that suggest women require more sleep than men for a variety of health related reasons. Thought I’d share!
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health-fitness/duke-university-scientists-find-women-need-more-sleep-than-men/story-fneuz9ev-1226596253113
I definitely learned the effects of these first hand when I was blogging. But chopping that out of my life actually brought me much more time to actually rest and sleep and not feel like I was behind on forty trillion things. Cutting out the superfluous (which blogging was for me) and making time for that which matters (friends, lazy time/sleep/naps, fun) is definitely how I fight my funks and stay on track (more so! I try!!) emotionally now. Haven’t perfected it now … but hopefully I’m moving in the right direction.
But see, if you hadn’t started blogging then I never would have met you 😛
I don’t regret it in the least, but when I found that I was running out of time and was becoming increasingly stressed about it, it was clear it needed to go. Notice how I kept all the perks (aka continuing to cherish my greatest new friendships and the lessons I learned) — no, I wouldn’t be the same person without it. Or without you. 😉 xo
I’m definitely a person who needs a lot of sleep – and I don’t get enough of it. I don’t tend to wake up early, but when I get in the habit of getting to bed earlier and getting up earlier, I feel much better. Problem is I fall out of the cycle too much – watching TV, surfing random pages on the internet, cleaning. I think it’s important to make sleep a priority, and maybe start taking my own advice!
I know for a fact I don’t get enough sleep 🙁 Need to work on that!