What are the dangers of not sleeping at night?

Many friends cannot sleep at night because of work or some other reasons. From the perspective of the biological clock, sleep is very important in our lives. It is also an important factor in maintaining our physical health and life. However, some friends do not know much about its harms. So, what are the dangers of not sleeping at night?

1. Lack of sleep can cause weight gain

Lack of sleep may increase hunger and stimulate appetite. According to relevant data, people who sleep less than 6 hours a day are more likely to become obese than those who sleep 7-9 hours a day. Ghrelin in the stomach stimulates hunger and leptin signals in the brain, which suppress appetite. Shortening sleep time will reduce the secretion of leptin and increase the level of hunger hormone. Lack of sleep not only stimulates appetite, it also stimulates the body's craving for high-fat and high-carbohydrate foods.

2. Prone to accidents

Lack of sleep has become one of the important factors causing traffic accidents nowadays. The reaction speed of a person driving when confused is equivalent to that of a drunk driver. According to relevant statistics, in the United States each year, 100,000 motor vehicle accidents and 1,500 traffic casualties are caused by fatigue driving. Most of these perpetrators are young people under the age of 25.

3. Makes you forgetful

Want to make your memory clearer? This requires you to get enough sleep every day. Researchers in the United States and abroad have determined that an area of ​​the brain called "spike wave ripples" is specifically responsible for consolidating memories. This brain wave is also responsible for transmitting learned information from the brain's hippocampus to the cerebral cortex. Most of the "sharp wave ripples" appear when people are in deep sleep.

4. Make people stupid

Sleep plays a decisive role in a person's thinking and learning ability. Lack of sleep affects a person's cognitive process in many ways. First, lack of sleep can impair attention, alertness, concentration, reasoning, and problem-solving abilities, which can make you less effective at learning.

Secondly, during the night, each sleep cycle plays a role in "consolidating" memories in the brain. But if you don't get enough sleep, you may not remember what you learned or experienced during the day.

5. Lack of sleep can lead to depression

Over time, sleep deprivation and sleep disturbances can lead to depression. Insomnia and depression are inextricably linked. According to a 2007 survey of 10,000 people, those with insomnia are five times more likely to develop depression than those without insomnia. In fact, insomnia is often one of the precursors to depression.

Insomnia and depression are mutually reinforcing. Lack of sleep can make depression worse, and depression can in turn make it more difficult to fall asleep. On a positive note, treating sleep problems can help relieve depression, and vice versa.

6. Affects judgment

Lack of sleep affects our understanding of things, which will affect people's ability to make reasonable judgments about events due to the inability to accurately evaluate and act wisely. Sleep-deprived people seem to be particularly prone to errors in judgement. In this world where the pace of life is getting faster and faster, sleeping less is becoming a symbol of honor. But sleep experts say it's a mistake to cut back on sleep and you may end up losing more than you gain. Especially if you have a judgment-intensive job, the effects of sleep deprivation can be a problem.

Many patients who lack sleep usually take some health supplements, but if the sleep is irregular, then taking health supplements will not have much effect. You must get more sleep on weekdays to ensure the health of our body and promote the body's metabolism, which is very important for our life!