Lack of Sleep Symptoms: Harmful Side Effects of Sleep Deprivation

Sleep is a necessity to the healthy functioning of person’s body and mind.  Lack of sleep symptoms can take a heavy toll on our daily lives if we don’t pay proper attention to our sleep routines.  The obvious side effects of sleep deprivation are the fatigue and continued sleepiness felt throughout the day.  Often though, people fail to understand the serious toll that sleep deprivation can have on the brain and its normal cognitive functions.

Imaging studies showing comparisons in brain activity of a normal and sleep deprived brain have confirmed that sleep deprivation alters the way the brain reacts to different situations.  Put simply, a sleep deprived brain will not function to its full capacity.  The onset of lack of sleep symptoms is often ignored and people “deal with it”.

Dealing with it usually involves going through the day tired, irritable, and drowning themselves in coffee or energy drinks. Whether the lack of sleep is caused by one of many types of insomnia, or just a rigorous and demanding schedule, it can hurt you just the same.  Here is a quick look at some of the most commonly seen side effects of lack of sleep:

Lack of Sleep Symptoms

• Muscle pain or aches
• Disorientation
• Difficulty remembering things
• Irritable moods
• Hallucinations
• Increased blood pressure and stress
• Abnormal weight fluctuations
• Weakened immune system
• Decreased alertness
• Slower or slurred speech
• Loss of speed and creative ability to make quick logical decisions
• Reducing normal speed and efficiency of actions and thoughts

To say that sleep deprivation affects the brain adversely is correct, but should be clarified.  Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) imaging studies have been used to pinpoint areas of the brain that react differently when a patient is sleep deprived.  Lack of sleep symptoms extend appear to extend across multiple regions of the brain.

Temporal Lobe – Region of the brain involved in language processing.  Studies have shown that verbal learning in a normal patient will activate this area of the brain, but sleep deprived patients show no activity when given the same tasks.

Parietal Lobe – Region of the brain used for determining spatial sense and navigation.  Increased activity is seen in this region in sleep deprived patients—even during tasks that would normally produce activity in the temporal lobe

Sleep Deprivation Keeps the Brain from Resting

Both observable behavior and studies done on sleep deprivation suggest that there is some important aspect of sleep that allows the brain to rest.  NREM sleep (normally the first part of a normal sleep cycle) is thought to allow the receptors of neurotransmitters to “rest” and reestablish their sensitivity.

This can directly lead to increased learning ability as well a better, consistent control of one’s moods.  In fact, every stage of sleep is extremely important in obtaining the maximum potential.  Deep NREM or “slow wave” is thought to be one of the most restorative parts of the cycle, along with REM.  Missing large portions of any of these stages can punch holes in the night.  This is often the case when people think that they are getting enough hours, but for whatever reason are getting insufficient amounts of these various stages.

Can Sleep Deprivation Affect Growth in Children?

Growth problems related to lack of sleep have been linked to a specific decrease in hormone production.  The growth hormone is secreted during deep NREM sleep—any sleep disorders, like sleep apnea, that either awake or disrupt a child from deep NREM sleep can interfere with the hormone’s production.

How Does Sleep Deprivation Affect Weight Loss or Gain?

It isn’t completely clear how or if sleep deprivation affects weight.  Studies have been done that seem to draw a real correlation between sleep deprivation and the development of obesity.  The most likely guess is that lack of sleep might cause damage to the hypothalamus, an area in the brain.

The hypothalamus handles regulation of appetite and is also responsible for expenditure of energy levels.  It’s possible that insufficient sleep during development could permanently change the way the hypothalamus operates, causing appetite problems leading to obesity.

Can Sleep Deprivation Weaken the Immune System?

The short answer is yes. The immune system of a sleep deprived patient is more likely to be unable to fight off attacks as well as responding more poorly when trying to recover from sickness.  Studies have shown that decreasing T-cell (assist in the bodies immunity function) counts are a definite lack of sleep symptom.  The strength of a patient’s immune system will determine how long they can handle sleep deprivation without an increased risk of sickness, but maintaining a healthy immune system requires sleep.

Alertness and Memory

Sleep deprivation can be extremely dangerous because it causes decreased responses to external stimulus.  Tests have shown that sleep deprivation leads to decreased performance from patients required to press a button when given a signal.  This inability to consistently complete simple tasks is attributed to “microsleeps” that are short periods of sleep lasting only a few seconds.

These episodes can occur so quickly that the person may not even notice, but their sense of the task and working memory can suffer.  People that are sleep deprived should not operate dangerous machinery or drive because these occurrences can lead to devastating accidents.