Waning! Low Battery

Having many sleepless
nights in a row?

While short-term sleep deprivation causes small struggles like
poor concentration and bad moods, prolonged lack of
sleep can lead to serious problems

Take a tour below to see how our bodies and
minds are impacted without sleep in the long-run.

Poor Cognitive Performance

Having a night short on sleep impairs our cognitive performance (the way our brain holds attention and processes information). We end up feeling foggy and scatter-brained at work or school.

Experts believe our genes dictate how drastically poor sleep affects our cognitive performance. In studies, some people struggle with thinking and concentration after just one night of little sleep, while others are affected only after longer periods without enough sleep.
The Cycle of Stress, Anxiety and poor Sleep

Stress and anxiety affects our sleep patterns, leaving us with restless nights. To complicate things, losing sleep can stress us out too! This can create a negative cycle where stress and sleeplessness snowballs and worsens each other.

When we’re stressed, our level of cortisol - the ‘fight or flight’ hormone - rises. This disrupts sleep patterns and also shortens the amount of time we spend in non-REM sleep. In the long run, a high cortisol level also raises the risk of numerous diseases
Increased Hunger and Weight Gain

Lacking sleep makes you hungrier and supersizes your appetite.

Sleep-deprived folks are found to have low levels of the appetite-suppressing hormone leptin (which makes us feel full), and higher levels of ghrelin (an appetite-inducing peptide produced in our stomachs).

Studies have also shown that sleep-deprivation puts us at risk of obesity. This could be because when we’re zonked out, we tend to munch on energy-dense, calorie-laden snacks to make up for it.
Weakened Immunity

There’s heaps of evidence that sleep and our immune system are tightly linked. Not getting enough sleep can weaken our immunity. This is because sleep affects the hormones and cytokines (signalling molecules that promote inflammation) responsible for our immune system.

Poor sleep also impairs how our immune system responds to a challenge, such as a vaccine. If we had a shoddy night’s sleep before getting vaccinated, our immune system ends up producing less antibodies in reaction to the vaccine. So it’s really important to rest up before an important jab in order to get stronger protection!
Irregular Menstrual Cycles and Fertility Issues

Losing sleep can lead to irregular menstrual cycles. In turn, the menstrual cycle also influences our sleep patterns. This is because the hormones that regulate our reproduction system also play a part in other functions, including body temperature, mood and sleep.

Furthermore, being sleep-deprived can even lead to difficulties having kids in both women and men.

In women, hormonal changes from losing sleep can cause reproductive issues like failure to ovulate, failure of an embryo implanting in the uterus, or early loss of pregnancy. Meanwhile, men can struggle with lower testosterone production from sleep-related stress.