Sleep deprivation can have many long-term negative effects on our health and should therefore not be ignored. You can find out what consequences there are and what helps here.
Sleep disorders: a widespread disease
Many people in Germany suffer from insomnia. A lack of sleep quickly becomes noticeable under such conditions: symptoms such as decreased performance, difficulty concentrating and daytime tiredness are already frequent short-term consequences. If the lack of sleep persists, the immune system suffers over time – which in turn increases the risk of various diseases. In order to get the complaints under control, the causes of the lack of sleep must be addressed.
Common causes of lack of sleep
Our sleep-wake rhythm is very susceptible to failure and often causes problems. Therefore, poor sleep can have a variety of causes. If you don't know where your lack of sleep is coming from and why you are constantly tired, you should get the doctor on board to help identify possible triggers. The following causes are often responsible for short-term sleep deprivation:
- emotional stress, stress
- poor sleep hygiene, for example a bedroom that is too warm
- Exercise in the late evening
- poor diet, such as hard-to-digest meals in the evening
- Consumption of luxury foods such as alcohol or coffee
If none of these points come into consideration, however, diseases can also be responsible for poor sleep – for example, an underactive thyroid.
Symptoms of a lack of sleep
Many people think that just a few hours of sleep are enough to be prepared for the next day. In reality, however, many people are sleep deprived without really knowing it. Because lack of sleep is not always expressed in lead tiredness, which makes thinking difficult and makes every activity a burden. These twelve signs should serve as warning signs:
1. You are always hungry
No matter how often you eat small meals a day, you just always feel hungry. A permanent feeling of hunger is an unmistakable sign of sleep deprivation. The reason for this: Lack of sleep has a negative effect on the hormone leptin, which controls hunger and appetite. If you don't sleep enough, your leptin level drops and sends the signal "hunger" even though your body actually still has enough energy available.
2. You are easily irritable
When a baby gets nagged, it's time to take a nap. The same principle ultimately applies to adult people, apart from nagging. Because lack of sleep throws the emotional centers in the brain out of balance. The prefrontal cortex, in which the rational processing of what is seen, is practically eliminated. That means: You react irrationally, irritably and exaggeratedly to certain events.
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3. You fall asleep immediately
As soon as your head hits the pillow, do you fall into a deep sleep? Actually a good sign, after all, you can rule out the fact that you suffer from difficulty falling asleep. According to the data from the Institute of Neurological Sleep Disorders and Strokefalling asleep within five minutes is a clear indication of lack of sleep.
4. Your immune system is weakening
Sleep is healthy in two senses. As a study by the University of California shows, even a slight sleep deprivation is enough to weaken the immune system. Those who sleep only six hours or less per night catch colds four times as often as late risers – regardless of personal stress level or age. In addition to proper nutrition and exercise, sleep is simply a cornerstone of wellbeing – which is why it is so important not to ignore a lack of sleep.
5. You look tired
Bloodshot, puffy eyes and a gray complexion don't always mean a wild night with too much alcohol. They can also be a clear visual sign of acute sleep deprivation. It is not for nothing that one speaks of "beauty sleep"!
6. You are "off the track"
Do you find yourself staring into space for minutes without thinking of anything? You drop your toast and the door is also narrower than usual? Then there is most likely a lack of sleep, because it increases the "bowl factor". The motor skills decrease in tired people and are less precise.
7. You cry for no reason
As already mentioned in point two, lack of sleep means that you are emotionally out of balance. So it's no wonder that you are overly sensitive and your emotions simmer. So the next time you start crying for no reason – apart from PMS and Co. – you should perhaps rethink your sleeping habits.
8. Your sex life stands still
If the mood doesn't set in bed, and over a longer period of time, you should either look at your relationship or your sleep behavior. Or best of both. Because: as a study shows, Sleep deprived people also often suffer from loss of libido.
9. You can't do without caffeine
Breakfast without coffee? Unthinkable! Caffeine is your savior and helps you get through the day despite a lack of sleep. If coffee and the like fail and you are still drowsy through the day, you should quickly "catch up" for a few hours of sleep. By the way: Caffeine lasts for many hours and can be responsible for a restless sleep. That's why you should avoid coffee and the like from the late afternoon if you are already suffering from lack of sleep.
10. You sleep as soon as it gets dark
This does not mean the time of day when you go to bed anyway, but every time of day and night. As soon as a room darkens, for example in the cinema, theater or on the couch at home, your eyes close and you go into sleep mode. A clear sign of lack of sleep that you shouldn't ignore.
11. You become a night owl
As soon as you only sleep a few hours over a longer period of time, your body adjusts to this routine. That means: It regulates itself by giving you energy at the worst possible times about just before bed.
12. Your skin is deteriorating
Those who are overtired often suffer from dry and thin skin that tends to wrinkle. There are also pimples on the face and a pale complexion. This is because the skin doesn't recover overnight. During sleep, the body releases a hormone that ensures that the skin can regenerate.
Fixing Lack of Sleep: Tips for a Good Night
If you can rule out illness as a cause of your lack of sleep, you can try the following tips to increase your sleep time again:
- Introduce evening rituals, for example drinking a cup of herbal tea half an hour before going to bed every evening.
- Refrain from using media such as television or cell phone at least one hour before bed – the blue-wave light emitted by the devices can wake you up.
- Pay attention to your diet and prefer to eat easily digestible meals, especially in the evening.
- Refrain from exercising later in the evening – it is better to do light exercise such as yoga two to three hours before going to bed.
Reading tips: You can find out everything about the Powernap here. We explain here whether talking in your sleep should make you think. We'll also tell you how to get up early more easily.
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S3 guideline of the German Society for Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine: Non-restful sleep / sleep disorders (as of 2017)
Stuck, B.A. et al .: Praxis der Schlafmedizin, Springer Verlag, 3rd edition, 2018
German Society for Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine (DGSM)