Effects of Sleep Deprivation
If you’re reading this and have gotten less sleep than you wish you did last night, you may also find yourself more stressed than you could be. People regularly getting less than ideal amount of nightly sleep may be prone to the following and more:
Mild to moderate cognitive impairmentMotor skill impairmentEmotional irritabilityWeight gainWeakened immunity
Stress and Sleep Deprivation
More than just being tired throughout the day, not getting enough sleep can color your whole day and subtly, but pervasively, create more stress. Most of these factors can lead to greater stress:
Being less mentally sharp at work can jeopardize your performance and potentially cause problems on the job.Getting sick more often puts you under pressure and additional stress.Experiencing emotional reactivity can cause conflict with co-workers, family, and friends.Being more prone to accidents obviously has its own set of dangers.
Combating Sleep Deprivation
If you find yourself wishing you’d gotten more sleep last night—and an honest look at your lifestyle reveals that lack of adequate sleep is a common occurrence,—some changes should probably be made. You may try one or more of the following:
Find more time for sleep. Often the cause of sleep deprivation is simple overscheduling. It’s difficult to find time for all the things we do these days, and sleep is often the first item on our schedule that gets sacrificed when we get too busy. You can find out about life plan strategies for finding a better balance. Create sleep-promoting habits. Sometimes we have habits in our lifestyle that can sabotage our sleep without our realizing it. That’s why building better sleep habits into one’s schedule are so important and effective in combating sleep deprivation. Cultivate a sleep-friendly state of mind. If you’ve found yourself losing sleep over a conflict or stressor you’re experiencing in life, you’re not alone—most of us have been there at one time or another. Try mindfulness meditation or learn how to clear your mind. Manage stress in your life. Sometimes it’s just general stress that affects our sleep—our body’s stress response gets triggered and stays triggered, and our body’s systems get out of balance, resulting in sleep problems.
Manage Current Sleep Deprivation
The previous suggestions are all effective options for making the commitment to take care of yourself and making changes to ensure that you get enough sleep. Just getting enough sleep at night can impact your life and stress levels in many ways. However, if you need help feeling more alert right now, and want help in managing the effects of sleep deprivation immediately, the following five tips can help: These tips are no substitute for a good night’s sleep, but they’re shortcuts to better managing a sleep deficit. Try them, and resolve to get better sleep in the future, and you’ll be glad you did.
