After a good night’s sleep you should be ready to face the day, refreshed and reenergized. But you might find yourself feeling tired during the day, even dozing off, or just simply feeling like you didn’t get enough sleep, after plenty of sleep. 

If this is the case for you, you might start wondering how long it will take to start feeling this lack of sleep. The day after a single night of bad sleep can look like a simple mood swing, or it can be a succession of cranky and grumpy interactions, with a collection of physical and mental symptoms as well.

What Causes Poor Sleep

The number of things that cause restless sleep is almost as numerous as the reported cures. But there are many factors that have been isolated, such as stress, caffeine, nicotine, and even your phone. You might be surprised how blue light affects your sleep.

Harm To Mental Health & Central Nervous System

Some of the most profound effects that occur from lack of quality sleep are the effects on the central nervous system and mental health. Lack of adequate sleep can begin to cause negative effects on some of the basic messaging that the body uses. Not only can this lead to unstable mood, lack of concentration, brain fog, and fatigue, but you can begin to experience memory issues as well. 

If the sleep deprivation continues, this can culminate with paranoia, hallucinations, and suicidal ideation. You may also begin experiencing microsleeps, which are uncontrollable and can be deadly if they occur during driving or other dangerous activities.

Drop in the Testosterone Levels

Lack of sleep can have a pronounced effect on the libido, even leading to a loss of nearly all sexual urges. This is generally due to an overall drop in the testosterone levels of the sleep-deprived. Lack of sleep has a demonstrated negative effect on the entire endocrine system. Those who aren’t getting enough sleep will find that they have altered levels of growth hormone and testosterone, among others.

Poor Balance & Coordination

When an individual has not gotten a sufficient amount of rest, they will on average display a lower level of balance, stability, and hand-eye coordination than others tend to. This may be accompanied by microsleeps as well, which can contribute to accidents or injuries.

Weakened Immunity System

Sleep is the body’s time to replenish immune system supplies and functions as well. The body uses periods of restful sleep to produce infection-fighting components like antibodies, white blood cells, and cytokines. These are used by the body to fight off viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. There are some varieties of cytokines that are even needed for successful sleep.

Weight Gain

Another symptom of low-quality sleep is the tendency for the sleep-deprived individual to gain weight without any other significant lifestyle changes. This is because sleep allows your body to balance the levels of the hormones that signal hunger and fullness. Too little sleep causes an increase in the hormone that causes hunger, leading the tired to overeat or snack more frequently.

Blood Sugar Challenges

If you have been slacking on your sleep for a longer period, you may begin to notice symptoms of pre-diabetes or even diabetes. This can manifest in different ways, such as higher blood sugar, crashes after eating heavy meals, and official diabetes diagnoses. Getting more restful sleep allows the body to more easily produce, and more readily release insulin.

How To Maximize Your Potential For Restful Sleep

Cutting out as many habits as possible that disrupt your sleep is the first step toward getting more high-quality sleep. Many things can create sleep disruptions other than caffeine. When you understand what you are doing to prevent your sleep, you can adjust your behavior to be able to get more rest.