High levels of inflammatory markers are in the bloodstream, which can eventually lead to cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure, Cralle explains.

You also tend to be more emotionally reactive, attention is decreased, hearing is impaired, and there is an increase in your risk of death from a fatal accident, she says.

“Judgment is affected, memory is impaired, and there’s deterioration in decision-making ability and eye-hand coordination,” Cralle says. In a small study published in the Journal of Sleep Research in 2016, 29 healthy young men were kept awake for 24 hours, and it was found that the lack of sleep made them more likely to recall false memories. That level of cognitive impairment could be enough to spell danger, depending on what you’re doing.Ĭline points to research that suggests people have an increased risk of car accidents after working an overnight shift, because of drowsiness. (For reference, in most states, the alcohol limit to legally drive is 0.08 percent.) You have a reduced reaction time, slurred speech, and slowed thinking, says the Cleveland Clinic. The consequences of sleep deprivation at 24 hours are comparable to the cognitive impairment of someone with a blood alcohol content of 0.1 percent, according to past research. “The brain is trying to cope with not having its opportunity to rejuvenate itself, so we have these heightened stress hormones to keep the body activated,” Dr. Here’s what happens to the body when you miss out on shut-eye.Īfter 24 hours of no sleep, stress hormones - specifically cortisol and adrenaline - increase to compensate for the fatigue we’re battling and to help us keep functioning, explains John Cline, PhD, an assistant professor of clinical psychology at the Yale School of Medicine and fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Sticking to a consistent sleep schedule is the best way to regulate the body’s clock. It could also throw off your internal body clock and possibly lead to insomnia on Sunday night. And contrary to popular belief, sleeping an extra hour or two on the weekends cannot make up for the lost sleep you may have experienced over the course of a busy week. Less insulin is released after you eat, and that, along with the increased cortisol, may lead to too much glucose in the bloodstream and thus an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.Įveryone is different, but according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults should get between seven and nine hours of sleep each night. In addition, skimping on sleep seems to throw other hormones out of whack. Poor sleep can lead to an increase in the body’s production of cortisol, also known as the stress hormone. During sleep, the body secretes hormones that help control appetite, metabolism, and glucose processing. They’re so interconnected that each of them needs to be a priority, she adds.Ĭhronic poor sleep puts us at increased risk of serious medical conditions, such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. “Sleep, along with diet and exercise, constitutes the very foundation of good health.” “As a society, as families and individuals, we have not yet fully appreciated the importance of sleep,” says Terry Cralle, RN, a certified clinical sleep educator based in Fairfax, Virginia. And if you make it a habit, not sleeping enough can have severe consequences on your health. While an occasional lack of sleep may not seem like a big deal, its impact can be intense and its effects can linger. All-night study sessions, important business deals, new babies - most people will experience a taste of sleep deprivation at some point in life.

I don t sleep at all