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Summary
- People usually do not realise that a good night’s sleep is incredibly essential for healthy wellbeing.
- Hypertension, depression, anxiety, and obesity are few long-term effects of insomnia.
- Meditation, scheduling one’s day and exercise should be given importance for a good night’s sleep.
Wellness depends upon various factors that affect mental, physical, and emotional health. Sleep is one of those factors. However, people usually don’t realise that a good night’s sleep is incredibly essential for healthy wellbeing.
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there is another pandemic raging: “the sleep deprivation pandemic”. The number of people who are facing general sleep disturbances is continuously rising.
Healthy sleeping is important as a night of good sleep helps in maintaining body weight. It improves concentration and productivity, while enhancing metabolism. Most importantly, good sleep empowers the immune system.
The state in which people find it difficult to fall asleep consistently for an extended period is known as sleep deprivation or insomnia. It is observed that predominantly, the youth is becoming a victim of insomnia.
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Causes of sleep deprivation
Unable to take a restful seven-hour sleep regularly causes sleep deprivation. Excessive consumption of caffeine also makes you sleep deprived. Perpetually being burdened with work hinders sleep. The blue light emitted from gadgets makes it harder to fall asleep.
Sleep deprivation is no less than a poison to wellbeing. In addition to that, the long-term effects of sleep deprivation are devastating.
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Long-term effects of sleep deprivation
- Hypertension: Sleep deprivation is directly linked to hypertension. It increases blood pressure, heart rate gets high, which causes strains on the heart.
- Depression and anxiety: Multiple research has affirmed that chronic sleep deprivation leads to clinical depression. An overall loss of motivation and melatonin leads to horrendous mood swings.
- Obesity: Sleep deprivation over a long duration of time negatively affects metabolism and eating patterns. Due to inadequate sleep, stress and anxiety levels increase. Thus, people develop unhealthy nutritional habits.
- Memory loss: This is another dangerous long-term effect of sleep deprivation as insomnia causes memory loss. Healthy sleep is required for memory recall. Studies also suggest that people have shown memory improvement just after one night of good sleep.
- Psychiatric disorders: Long term sleep deprivation may result in various psychiatric disorders. People with insomnia experience hallucinations, disorientation, and paranoia.
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Ways to cure sleep deprivation
Meditation can help to maintain the sleep cycle. Meditation relaxes the brain, reduces overthinking, that aids in sleeping.
Besides, scheduling one’s lifestyle is a good practice. One must try waking up and going to bed at regular times. Scheduling makes the body self-aware, and one will automatically feel sleepy when it’s time.
Reducing caffeine consumption is another way to cure insomnia. Excessive caffeine consumption, especially close to bedtime, causes insomnia. Regular exercise is also vital. Exercising during the day keeps the body physically active, and at the end of the day, it makes it yearn for the bed.
However, it is always advised that if a person is facing insomnia for long, they should consider therapy and medication. Sleep deprivation leads to serious health issues. Thus, daily restful sleep is essential for healthy living.
