Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Your Body - Can Lack of Sleep Make People More Violent?

How Does Sleep Deprivation Affect Your Body and Mind?

Did you know that sleep deprivation or lack of sleep can have a profound effect on your physical and mental health? Lack of sleep can make you suffer from serious medical health conditions and can affect your overall health. It also negatively affects your emotional state and mental abilities and can compromise decision-making processes and creativity.

Physiological and psychological effects of sleep deprivation and lack of sleep.

Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Your Body - Can Lack of Sleep Make People More Violent?

Sleep Deprivation

Sleep is not a luxury, but a necessity. One hour of sleep loss causes more health problems than you expect. 
Sleep deprivation or lack of sleep is a condition of not getting the required amount of sleep. 
Sleep deprivation can have profound consequences on your body in far-reaching and surprising ways. 
Lack of sleep causes the release of insulin which leads to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes and increased fat storage. 
Leptin and ghrelin hormones that control feelings of hunger and satiety, are also affected by sleep deprivation. As a result, a person becomes overweight.

Sleep deprivation is a common problem in modern society that occurs when a person has less sleep than they need to feel awake and alert. Sleeplessness or lack of sleep can be either chronic or acute and can vary widely in severity. 

Sleep deprivation affects many people at some points in their lives, alters the normal functioning of meditation and impedes the ability to focus on environmental sensory input. 
Children and young adults are most vulnerable to the negative effects of sleeplessness or lack of sleep. When someone fails to get the required amount of sleep, he starts accumulating sleep debt.

A review of 16 studies found that sleeping less than 6 to 8 hours per night can increase the risk of early death by up to 12%. Experts recommend that you get 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night.

Read More: How to Get Rid of Lack of Sleep and Insomnia - Pharmacological and Non-Pharmacological Treatment

Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Your Body

The following is an indication of some of the most important complications that can be caused by lack of sleep:

Consequences of Sleep Deprivation

Sleep Deprivation Effects on the Immune System: The immune system produces immune substances called cytokines during sleep, which protect the body from foreign bodies such as bacteria and viruses.

 Lack of sleep leads to a deficiency in the body’s ability to enhance its immune system, and its ability to protect the body from diseases, in addition to that sleep deprivation may prolong the duration of certain diseases.

Sleep Deprivation Effects on Digestive system: The amount of sleep affects two hormones responsible for feeling hungry and satiated: the leptin hormone, which senses the brain to feel a full stomach, and the ghrelin hormone which is responsible for opening an appetite. 

The lack of sleep leads to an increase in ghrelin production and a reduction in the leptin hormone, which may have a greater risk of developing obesity.

Sleep Deprivation Effects on Respiratory system: Lack of sleep affects the respiratory system (on the one hand), and respiratory diseases affect sleep on the other hand, for example. 

Obstructive Sleep Apnea leads to sleep disruption, increases the likelihood of developing respiratory infections, such as common cold, and influenza and worsens the respiratory chronic diseases that a person suffers from, such as chronic lung diseases.

Sleep Deprivation Effects on Cardiovascular System: Sleep affects greatly the level of sugar in the blood, blood pressure, and inflammation, in addition to the ability of the body to protect and repair the heart and blood vessels, which are processes that have a major role in maintaining the health of the heart. 

According to studies, lack of sleep increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Sleep Deprivation Effects on Endocrine system: The production of hormones cortisol and testosterone in the body depends on sleep, so the production of testosterone, for example, requires at least three hours of uninterrupted sleep, so lack of sleep affects its production.

Lack of sleep also affects the production of growth hormone, especially in children and adolescents, which are important hormones responsible for building muscle and repairing cells and tissues.

It is worth noting that the pituitary gland continuously secretes growth hormones, but sleep and exercise also helps stimulate the secretion of these hormones.

Sleep Deprivation may Cause Diabetes: Studies have shown that people who sleep less than eight hours a day are less able to deal with glucose levels, in addition to a deficiency in the levels of insulin hormone in the blood, which increases the possibility of developing type 2 diabetes.

Sleep Deprivation May Cause Overweight: Have you ever noticed that you can't resist the attractiveness of food when you need to sleep?

There is a hormonal reason for this, as lack of sleep can lead to low levels of leptin. Leptin is the hormone that makes you feel full. 

Not getting enough sleep leads to lower levels of the leptin hormone, which makes you feel hungry, with a craving for high-calorie foods, which leads to adding more kilograms.

Read More: Symptoms of Sleep Disorders and Causes of Sleep Deprivation

What are the Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Your Skin?

Sleep deprivation not only negatively affects your body, but it also affects wound healing, collagen growth, skin texture, skin hydration and moisture levels in your skin, lowering your complexion's pH levels and causing outbreaks of acne, eczema, psoriasis, and skin allergies, which is why your skin looks less youthful and has less of a glow.
People who suffer from lack of sleep are exposed to various skin problems such as pale skin, the appearance of fine lines, and dark circles under the eyes in addition to their swelling. 
Lack of sleep also causes the stress hormone cortisol to be released in the body more, and its release leads to collagen breakdown in the skin and protein, causing the skin to lose its smoothness and elasticity.

Read More: Insomnia - A Sleep Disorder: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment

Can Lack of Sleep Make People More Violent?

Sleep deprivation or lack of sleep can increase negative emotions and may result in worsening mood, increasing irritability, and feelings of restlessness, depression, anxiety and anger. 

Lack of sleep decreases positive emotions, feelings of happiness or joy and leads to heightened emotional reactivity. As a result, people may be more irritable, more violent, short-tempered, and vulnerable to panic attacks and anxiety disorders.

Lack of Sleep Can Make You Angrier

If you feel angry often, we advise you to check your sleep hours. The study report by researchers from Iowa State University and published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology revealed that losing two hours of sleep per day would make you angrier.

Besides, researchers noted that lack of sleep can adversely affect your stress, feelings of sadness and enthusiasm. 
The researchers were able to reach these results by targeting a number of participants who were divided into two groups as follows:

1st group: They maintain their sleep routine; seven hours of sleep.

2nd group: Their sleeping hours decreased by two to four every night.

Subsequently, a number of questions were asked of the participants, and they were put in different situations such as hearing disturbing sounds, with the aim of knowing how they deal with situations. 
The researchers found that feelings of anger with these things were higher for participants in the second group; those who had fewer sleep hours. They reported that the number of sleeping hours for a normal person should be approximately 6-8 hours. 
Researchers emphasized the need to monitor one in the event of getting fewer hours in order to reduce anger and fix it.

Read more: How to fix common sleep problems and get a good night's sleep

How Many Hours of Sleep Do You Really Need?

It is usually advised to follow appropriate diets and exercise, and it should be noted that taking enough sleep is just as important. 
Although there are many factors that have a role in determining each person's need to sleep and performing all of their daily functions effectively: such as environmental factors, genetic factors, and behavioral factors. 

The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) 2015 recommended sleep duration for specific age groups as follows:

Infants: Newborns need between 0-3 months to 14-17 hours of sleep per day , while infants between 4-11 months need 12-15 hours of sleep.

Toddlers: between 1-2 years need 11-14 hours of sleep.

School children: During the 3-5 year period, a child needs 10-13 hours of sleep per day, and between 9-11 hours at 6-13 years of age.

Adolescents: Adolescents between the ages of 14-17 years need 8-10 hours of sleep per day.

Adults: People 18-64 years of age need 7-9 hours of sleep per day.

Older adults: People over 65 years of age require 7 to 8 hours of sleep.

Read More: Sleep Deprivation-Causes and Symptoms