symptoms of not getting enough deep sleep

IStock/Maca and Naca We must respect the sleep cycles “ Studies have shown that when you don't get sleep within 24 hours, it's like having a blood alcohol level of. If we don’t get any sleep at all, the effects are even worse. Now, mind you, this is just if we don’t get enough sleep. “You may notice mood changes - that you’re more irritable or stressed out.” Smita Patel, an integrative neurologist, sleep medicine physician and member of HealthyWomen’s Women’s Health Advisory Council. This causes a kind of backup (specifically of oxidants) that takes a toll on our brain’s ability to function in a clear and orderly manner.Īnd we can see the effects of that toll in as little as one day.

When we don’t get seven-plus hours of sleep a night, our brain cells can’t perform that essential flush, which is a key purpose of sleep. All the waste of the day is flushed out, and the environment is replenished.” This is what happens to our brain cells during sleep. Then the night crew comes in and cleans the floors, restocks the shelves. “Throughout the day, everything gets mixed up, and waste is created. “Our brain is like a grocery store,” said Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D., a neuroanatomist (someone who studies the nervous system). Without the flush of sleep, our brains get clogged up Whether you notice yourself feeling off or you feel nothing unusual at all, what’s happening in your sleep-deprived brain is the same, and it’s not good. Or you may feel perfectly fine - even finer if you're fueling up with caffeine. The day after not sleeping well, you may feel a little foggy, a bit hungrier than normal, slower to react, irritable and perhaps even a bit down in the dumps.

Symptoms of not getting enough deep sleep