What Happens To Your Body If You Don’t Get Enough Sleep?

When you don’t get enough sleep, not only are you more tired, but your immune system is also affected and you can be more vulnerable to different diseases

To know what happens to your body if you do not sleep enough, it is essential to previously recognize the importance of sleep in our body.

Its main function is to provide rest to the body and mind, preparing them for each new waking state.

We must also understand that sleep directly influences the metabolism of our cells. Not getting enough sleep doesn’t just mean getting too little sleep.

The quality of sleep is as important as the number of hours slept.

A person can be healthy by sleeping 6 hours a day, just as someone can constantly feel tired with 10 hours of sleep.

• The body of a person who does not rest properly resembles a machine that works and runs non-stop.
• The consequence is an inevitable collapse, which can happen sooner or later, depending on the health status of each individual.

Sleep disorders are usually associated with various organic disorders, being capable of altering the functioning of any organ.

In addition, poor sleep can increase vulnerability to pain, decrease memory capacity,  and severely weaken our immune system.

What happens to your body if you don’t get enough sleep: the risk of suffering from Alzheimer’s

For a long time, science considered the possibility of a relationship between sleep pathology and Alzheimer’s disease.

Recent investigations made it possible to identify the increase in the characteristic biomarkers of the disease in patients who did not get enough sleep.

These are the beta-amyloid and tau proteins, which are associated with the development of a state of dementia.

In the aforementioned studies, it was found that participants with less than 5 hours of sleep a day had a higher concentration of biomarkers.

The same was true of people who slept between 6 and 8 hours, but suffered from interrupted and poor quality sleep.

On the one hand, the accumulation of tau proteins usually produces neurofibrillary tangles, which are highly destructive to the brain.

High levels of beta-amyloid protein lead to the formation of highly toxic plaques for brain neurons.

The concentration of both biological markers causes excessive fatigue, and accelerates the natural degeneration of our brain, leaving it more vulnerable.

To the physical and mental exhaustion that your body presents if you do not sleep enough, we add the risk of greater risk of suffering from Alzheimer’s.

Currently, it is still debated what would be the cause and what would be the consequence.

The concentration of tau and beta-amyloid proteins can also cause insomnia and sleep disturbances. However, science indisputably alerts us to the need to preserve a good quality of sleep  on a daily basis.

Easy tips to get a better quality of sleep

Having a good quality of sleep can improve your health in several aspects, for example:

• Fight and delay cellular aging.
• Prevent physical and psychological pathologies, as well as emotional disorders.
• Improve control over appetite and fight overweight.
• Reduce physical, cognitive and emotional exhaustion to combat the constant feeling of fatigue.
• Provide energy to the body and improve disposition, allowing better performance at work and personal level.

1. Decrease daily stress levels

Stress is currently the main cause of insufficient sleep, as well as of various organic disorders. Lowering stress and anxiety levels is essential to sleep well and have a better quality of life.

Although it may sound impossible to stop stressing, small attitudes can make all the difference in our routine.

• In principle, we must separate personal life from profession, respecting our moments of rest and entertainment.
• In addition, we can resort to activities that promote relaxation, such as yoga, Pilates or meditation.
• We will try to maintain healthy hobbies that allow us to expend energy and not accumulate tension.

It is also essential to prepare psychologically for bedtime. We must be relaxed and calm, in a positive environment, which allows us to rest.

To do this, it is essential to let go of daily obligations, put the mobile phone aside, take an infusion and try to breathe calmly.

2. Maintain a balanced diet

An unbalanced diet, added to the consequent digestive problems, greatly impairs our quality of sleep. In addition, it severely weakens our immune system, favoring the appearance of various diseases.

It is recommended to prefer light dinners, with less carbohydrates, to facilitate digestion and avoid the feeling of “stomach heaviness”.

It is also crucial to maintain a balanced diet throughout the day.

3. Practice physical activity regularly

The regular practice of physical exercises offers many benefits to our physical and mental health. It helps to manage weight and regulate the cardiorespiratory rhythm, in addition to improving self-esteem.

A simple daily 30-45 minute walk can help you avoid what happens to your body if you don’t get enough sleep.

In addition, it also improves your physical and cognitive performance during your work day.