What happens if you don't sleep? You have heard "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” This is also applied to the condition when you lack sleep. We are not advocating for sleep to cover up for laziness, but you should get just enough sleep to be productive for the rest of the hours. According to a report by the National Sleep Foundation sleeping should be a priority just like any other health-related issue. The following schedule from the NSF outlines how much sleep is enough for various age groups:

• Newborns: 14-17 hours
  
  
• Toddlers: 11-14 hours
  
  
• Preschoolers: 10-13 hours
  
  
• School-age children: 9-11 hours
  
  
• Teenagers: 8-10
  
  
• Adults: 7-9 hours
  
  
• Older adults: 7-8 hours

What Happens if You Lack Sleep?

• Skin issue
  Lack of sleep makes the skin tired. Not only that but according to DR parks, the co-founder of Derma Warehouse, dryness, irritability, and skin sensitivity are at their peak. Any skin imperfection and blemishes worsen. Wrinkles and lines also start to develop irrespective of your age.
  
  
• Obesity
  Lack of sleep can lead to weight gain and eventually obesity in two aspects. The first one is increased food intake due to hormonal imbalance and more cravings. The second one has reduced energy expenditure due to fatigue associated with lack of sleep. This means more fat will be stored in the body.
  
  
• Stress
  Poor sleep leads to an overproduction of cortisol, which is also known as the stress hormone. High cortisol levels have all the negative impacts on our body that can result in stress.
  
  
• Forgetfulness and Inability to concentrate
  According to an international journal of occupational medicine and environmental health report, a 24-hour sleep deprivation will affect your memory negatively. You will have poor decision making capability and inefficient coordination of a lot of other body systems.
  
  
• Low sex drive
  Lack of sleep impairs the proper functioning of the productive system in our body. In one particular 2015 pilot study carried out on a group of females that focused on the relationship between sleep and sex drive; it was observed that an additional hour of sleep increased the probability of the woman engaging in sexual activity with her partner by 14% the following night.
  
  
• Risk of car accident
  A car accident is one more thing of what happens when you don't get enough sleep. Irrespective of being termed as an accident, we all agree that sleepiness, high-stress levels, lack of concentration and focus have all been culprits in causing car accidents.
  
  
• Hearing impairment
  Lack of sleep causes mental exhaustion, and since the mind plays a vital role in hearing, its inability to focus leads to hearing impairment. According to Dr. Seva Polotsky, a sleep apnea researcher, reduced blood flow in the ears can also lead to hearing impairment. Lack of sleep causes slowed blood circulation and thus fewer nutrients delivered to the respective destinations.
  
  
• Poor hand and eye coordination
  According to research published in the western journal of medicine, lack of sleep affects the cognitive coordination in our system. It has in fact been compared to drunkenness and drug intoxication.
  
  
• Frequent infections
  What happens when you don't get enough sleep? Your immune system is compromised. The normal functioning of the body system is jeopardized and it fails to recognize or adequately fight the disease-causing germs. As a result, you get ill more frequently.
  
  
• Risk of getting heart disease, stroke, diabetes
  Tiredness resulting from lack of sleep can increase the body's resistance to insulin. There is also lower production of insulin. These two facts, combined with a lot of eating, is a certain recipe to aggravate cardiovascular disorders according to a report from the national institute of diabetes and digestive and kidney disease.

Tips for Better Sleep

A wide variety of factors can cause failure to have a better sleep. Some we have already discussed, but since the list is long, we could not discuss all of them. However, a majority of those factors are interrelated and dealing with one or a few will undoubtedly correct the effects of what happens to your body when you don't sleep.
A research from Dr. Daniel Amen, a ten times New York Times bestselling author and a double board-certified psychiatrist recommends the following practices.

• Take less caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine
  These are stimulants that affect the central nervous system and negatively impact sleeping habits.
  
  
• Reduce the use of phones and computers before bedtime
  The blue light from these electronic devices reduces the production of melatonin, which is essential in helping to fall asleep.
  
  
• Exercise regularly during the day
  Exercise relaxes the muscles and helps in reducing the build-up of fatigue. A relaxed mind enables a sound sleep.
  
  
• Stress management
  Another thing that happens if you don't sleep is the buildup of stress, which is caused by high cortisol levels.
  
  
• Go to bed and get up at the same time every day
  Sticking to a schedule is the best way to condition your mind to know when to go to sleep. This can be as simple as brushing your teeth before sleep or reading some pages of a book before getting to bed.
  
  
• Maintain a conducive environment in your bedroom
  Hot or even warm temperatures in a room prevent a person from falling asleep. Other simple practices like switching off the light and turning off all the electronics in the room can induce sleep.
  
  
• Go to the doctor for further help
  If you find yourself not falling asleep easily or after getting to bed for no good reason you know of, seek the help of a psychiatrist to find out if you have an undetected sleep disorder.
  Since we have discussed what happens if you don't sleep, there is no point in not implementing the sleep inducement strategies outlined above. You might be exercising regularly or even taking, but without proper sleep, all these can be rendered ineffective. If you have any sleeping difficulty from either known or unknown causes, visit a medical doctor for a consultation. Your health takes the priority in your life. If you want to find more information about side effects of lack of sleep, please click here.