7 Side Effects Of Insomnia on Your Body

Oct 02, 2018

The average adult needs at least eight hours of sleep every night to operate at their best. In fact, one study found that getting six hours of sleep is just as bad for you as not sleeping at all.

Do you suffer from insomnia? You're not alone.

An estimated 60 million Americans can't sleep either. Stress, anxiety, an unbalanced diet, jet lag and many other reasons can cause insomnia. Some people only struggle with insomnia for a few weeks, while others may find themselves unable to get a good night's sleep for years on end.

We've done some research and gathered information on the different ways insomnia impacts your life. In this article, we'll tackle some of the causes of insomnia, some of its most common symptoms and side-effects as well as how to treat them.

For many people, insomnia isn't a condition but a by-product of something else. People who suffer from depression and anxiety, for example, are likely to experience insomnia as a result. People with insomnia are 10 times more likely to suffer from chronic depression and 17 times more likely to have a clinical anxiety disorder according to the Sleep Foundation.

There are actually two types of insomnia. Primary insomnia does not have an underlying cause, while secondary insomnia is a side-effect of something else. We already mentioned that depression and anxiety have been linked to causes of insomnia, but did you know your sex can influence it as well? Women are twice as likely to suffer from insomnia than men due to hormonal changes brought on by the menstrual cycles.

When a woman is closer to menopause, night sweats and hot-flashes aren't uncommon. The lack of estrogen caused by menopause also contributes to insomnia.

Your age may also play a factor in your insomnia. As we get older, our sleeping patterns change. Old people, for example, don't need as much sleep as a younger person and are prone to waking up more throughout the night. This is why many of them need to nap during the day to make up for the hours they miss during the night. Research has suggested that around half of all adults over 60 experience some type of insomnia.

Insomnia in teens and young adults is likely to be secondary with an underlying cause such as mental health, lack of structure, stress or a sleep disorder like restless leg syndrome.

Some other secondary causes of insomnia that might be costing you precious sleep are:

• Jet lag.
• An inconsistent sleep schedule.
• An unbalanced diet that deprives the body of important nutrients.
• Eating late at night and disrupting the body's natural processes.
• Chronic pain.
• Sleep apnea, RLS and other sleep disorders.
• Side-effects from medications

You may wonder whether you actually have insomnia or just struggle to fall asleep. There is a difference. In order to be diagnosed with primary insomnia, you must experience sleeplessness that's unrelated to medical, psychological or other factors according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Whether your insomnia is primary or secondary, here are some of the most frequent symptoms:

• Inability to fall asleep, spending hours "tossing and turning".
• Waking throughout the night.
• Waking up too early in the morning.
• Persistent fatigue and lack of energy.
• Difficulty concentrating.
• Irritation and mood swings.
• Changes that aren't like you such as aggression, hypersensitivity and impulsive behaviors.
• Social problems with family, friends and coworkers as a result of your behavioral changes.
• Changes in appearance that can include dry skin and breakouts, wrinkles, dark circles under the eyes and weight gain.
• Sugar cravings.
• Constipation.

Because our body undergoes important restorative processes while we sleep, insomnia impacts our health and mental well-being. Irregular emotions and health complications can be caused by our body's inability to take care of things while we're asleep.

In a study that compared the effects of sleep on 48 adults, those who got 6 hours of sleep per night for two weeks demonstrated a massive dip in cognitive performance that was almost the same as those who weren't allowed to sleep for three days at a time.

Cognitive abilities refer to learning, memory, problem-solving and more. Without enough sleep, our concentration, reasoning and alertness take a major hit. You're more likely to be forgetful if you suffer from insomnia because memories and information is sorted and categorized during the REM stage of sleep. Most people who have insomnia don't reach REM, the stage where we dream, at all.

Insomnia can attribute to life-threatening health problems like heart disease and high blood pressure. A study found that 90 percent of people with insomnia also had one of the following:

• Heart problems like irregular heart beat or palpitations.
• High blood pressure.
• Diabetes.
• Heart disease or heart failure.
• Stroke.

Primary insomnia can cause people to become depressed, but secondary insomnia and a lack of sleep can worsen pre-existing conditions like depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder.

You may be shocked to find your appearance change without enough sleep. Even a few months of insomnia can make you look like you've aged a couple of years. Lack of sleep leads to the increased production of cortisol, a hormone that destroys collagen, the structural protein that keeps skin firm.

Insomnia can also affect the human growth hormone (HGH). HGH is released during sleep and aids tissue repiar. Without enough HGH, we can experience many negative side-effects like extremely low energy, anxiety and depression, reduced bone density and difficulty concentrating. You'll notice that a lack of HGH shares many similarities with the effects of insomnia.

With reduced cognitive function and the inability for our brain to store memories, we're more likely to forget things if we have insomnia.

While you may want to speak with a doctor about your sleeplessness, there are a few things you can try at home to help your cause.

Make sure you go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, including weekends. Avoid late night snacks, which lead to weight gain, and also give you increased energy that prevents you from falling asleep.

Have you survived a battle with insomnia or know anyone who is? Pass this on to your family and friends and also tell us your best tips for getting some good sleep.

Our content is created to the best of our knowledge, yet it is of general nature and cannot in any way substitute an individual consultation with your doctor. Your health is important to us!