The Consequences of Poor Sleep
By Sara Butler
When you don’t sleep well at night, you feel it all day long. You probably already are aware just how important sleep is to your overall health, but in case you need a refresher, there are a few things that can go awry if you’re not getting proper sleep at night. Here are just a few of them!
Poor Dietary Habits
This may seem a bit strange, but not getting proper sleep at night might just influence you to reach for unhealthy foods. People who lack proper sleep tend to eat more food than those who sleep the proper amount at night, which means that obesity rates increase right along with poor sleep habits. That’s right -- if you don’t sleep well you crave more food and also foods rich in simple carbohydrates and calories.
Trouble with Concentration
If you have poor sleep habits, you’re more likely to lose focus easily. Due to this, your senses are impacted by a lack of sleep, resulting in problems with foot-eye and hand-eye coordination. If you have a particularly complex job, then you need to make sure you’re getting enough sleep each and every night or you could put yourself in danger.
Emotional Issues
If you don’t get enough sleep, you can be really grumpy. The reason for this is that the regions in the brain in charge of mood are only partially activated when you don’t get enough sleep. Getting enough sleep will help you feel happier!
It’s Bad for Your Heart
Your cardiovascular system is greatly impacted by lack of quality sleep. The poor diet choices associated with poor sleep habits in conjunction with a heart weakened by lack of sleep put you at a higher risk of heart disease and heart attack.
What You Can Do
To avoid the negative consequences of poor sleep, you need to make an effort to get better quality sleep at night. Focus on:
- Quality – The amount of sleep you get matters, but so does the quality. Uninterrupted sleep in which your body is able to move through different sleep cycles is considered high quality.
- Time – You need between seven and nine hours of sleep each night. No matter how high the quality of sleep, if you don’t log enough hours, you’ll still feel the negative effects.
Sleep is so important to your health and wellness, so make sure you're getting enough!
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Denton, Tex.