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Long Term Effects Of Not Sleeping Enough

stAr shAdow nEt

stAr shAdow nEt

Bluelighter
Joined
Feb 26, 2004
Messages
450
Im just wondering what the long and short term effects are from not getting a proper nights rest on a regular basis?

Take me for example: I am 23, i work full time and then some, plus try to have time with my girl and with my family. On a usual night i get about 5 or 6 hours of sleep. Some nights i will only sleep for even less, sometimes as little as 2 hours. I often feel tired or exausted during the day, i have come to rely on caffiene to stay awake while im at work. Sometimes i nodd off during my shift. Then on the weekends i will just crash and sleep for like 12 hours on Saturday, as if im "catching up" on my sleep.

How unhealthy is this? How will this effect my body and mind in the long term? Should i be concerned?

I just hate feeling tired all the time, but at the same time i like to stay active and dont want to goto bed at 8:00pm every night like im some old man.

What about those "Energy Drinks"? Are they bad for you? How so?
 
In severe cases, sleep deprivation will cause psychosis.

You need a minimum of 8 hours sleep a night, otherwise your body will get run down. This will affect your concentration, mood and immune system. For example you will be more prone to getting sick.

Energy drinks are not that good for you, they provide a quick fix but then your energy levels will drop to lower than where they started.

Obviously it is much healthier to have regular sleeping patterns and for a decent amount of time. The only way you will stop feeling chronically tired is to be strict about this!
 
Not neccessairly 8 hours, for some it migth be more or it might be less, you'll know when you're comfortable with the amount you're sleeping.
 
You could try a dissasociative or low dose psychedelic to improve the amount of sleep required to feel rested.. just a thought.
 
ruski said:
Not neccessairly 8 hours, for some it migth be more or it might be less, you'll know when you're comfortable with the amount you're sleeping.
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i agree. anything more than ~7 hours for me and i feel like shit all day.

but yeah, you'll know when the sleep you're getting is adequate for your body. if you think you're sleep deprived, you are. even if you seem to adjust to that amount over time, it will eventually just wear you down.
 
^^^Yeah, I hardly ever sleep for more than 6 hours a night....then again, I also nap all the time too, I dunno if that's a good thing or a bad thing though. It's not like I'm tired all the time, I always have heaps of energy...I just fall asleep if I have nothing to distract me and keep me awake lol...
 
In my definitive experience....the years (yes..years!) where I continually deprived myself of a good nights sleep due to drugs and partying all eventually caught up with me. It always will, TRUST ME ON THAT. I thought I was the energizer bunny priding myself on being able to stay up for a week at most, getting by on very little sleep etc...and than the big crash occurs when you least expect it. Drugs still help, but you feel worn out and ravaged. I think I have made up for my sleepless drug addled years and paid dearly for it....I would never want to go through that again. My friend likened it to a bank....whatever you owe you will eventually have to pay. With interest.

If I don't get one night's sleep now I feel unhealthy and weird.
 
Studies have show that regularly getting under 4 hours of sleep per night can induce fluctuations in insulin that resemble diabites. Not good.

ebola
 
^^ If you've got a source for that, I'd be interested in reading it (not questioning fact, just interested).
 
It was presented in a psychobiology class I took roughly 4 years ago. I have since sold the text. :)

ebola
 
just FYI, this journal requires subscription to view (university login via proxy works).

ebola
 
crystalcallas said:
In my definitive experience....the years (yes..years!) where I continually deprived myself of a good nights sleep due to drugs and partying all eventually caught up with me. It always will, TRUST ME ON THAT. I thought I was the energizer bunny priding myself on being able to stay up for a week at most, getting by on very little sleep etc...and than the big crash occurs when you least expect it. Drugs still help, but you feel worn out and ravaged. I think I have made up for my sleepless drug addled years and paid dearly for it....I would never want to go through that again. My friend likened it to a bank....whatever you owe you will eventually have to pay. With interest.

If I don't get one night's sleep now I feel unhealthy and weird.
Click to expand...

Speakin the truuf
 
Well, the short answer is that if you stop sleeping, you'll die.

I've heard that you can survive with as little as a few minutes of REM sleep per night, but then there are lots of other things going on during deep sleep too.

In short, you must sleep at least 7 hours per night. There are some exceptions, such as people who need 6 or 9 hours.....but bell curves do not lie.

The hardest part about going to bed and getting enough sleep is making a *habit* of it. So just try and stay away from caffeine completely, first of all. No "energy drinks."

About two hours before bed time, eat a moderately sized meal. At least 30 minutes before sleeping, dim the lights. The reason is that the bright light keeps your reticular activating system going on full throttle....and also light has an effect on melatonin release.
 
I also have heard ( and my doctors have told me as well) that the liver regenerates and/or stimulates glutathione (sp?) (anybody care to explain this? i'm not quite sure what it means myself just sharing....) itself during particular hours of the night...roughly from 11 pm to 3 am . This explains why when we sleep too late, or during daytime (especially those who work night shifts ) we don't feel as rested as compared to sleeping during proper hours. This also explains why when I keep odd sleeping hours (say, sleeping at 5 am and waking up at 4 pm...it may be 11 hours of sleep but HELL I still feel fucking tired) it's because my liver was not able to regenerate properly and so I dont feel truly rested.

I'm inclined to believe this based on my personal experinces with sleeping at different hours of the day , or withholding sleep at all as compared to sleeping properly, at the right times. It's our livers!
 
>>There are some exceptions, such as people who need 6 or 9 hours.....but bell curves do not lie.
>>

True...there are even rare exceptions where 50 min/night is ideal.

ebola
 
you don't need 8 hours!
everyone is different. as you get older you do.
but alot of people in asia sleep only 4-6hours and are fine.
 
crystalcallas said:
I also have heard ( and my doctors have told me as well) that the liver regenerates and/or stimulates glutathione (sp?) (anybody care to explain this? i'm not quite sure what it means myself just sharing....) itself during particular hours of the night...roughly from 11 pm to 3 am . This explains why when we sleep too late, or during daytime (especially those who work night shifts ) we don't feel as rested as compared to sleeping during proper hours. This also explains why when I keep odd sleeping hours (say, sleeping at 5 am and waking up at 4 pm...it may be 11 hours of sleep but HELL I still feel fucking tired) it's because my liver was not able to regenerate properly and so I dont feel truly rested.

I'm inclined to believe this based on my personal experinces with sleeping at different hours of the day , or withholding sleep at all as compared to sleeping properly, at the right times. It's our livers!
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this is very interesting.. but i think why are you going to sleep at 5am? maybe you had some drugs and thats why you don't feel as good.
i don't think that your liver has a clock and only regenerates at 11pm- 3am.
i would say it would do it once you get into rem sleep. or prehas it does it at what time on average you normal get to REM sleep (by your melatonin and body clock)
i find if i sleep in a dark room, have been awake for a normal time and have melatonin it doesn't matter what time a sleep, as long as i sleep long enough i feel fine (depending on if i have taking drugs of coarse)
 
crystalcallas said:
I also have heard ( and my doctors have told me as well) that the liver regenerates and/or stimulates glutathione (sp?) (anybody care to explain this? i'm not quite sure what it means myself just sharing....) itself during particular hours of the night...roughly from 11 pm to 3 am . This explains why when we sleep too late, or during daytime (especially those who work night shifts ) we don't feel as rested as compared to sleeping during proper hours. This also explains why when I keep odd sleeping hours (say, sleeping at 5 am and waking up at 4 pm...it may be 11 hours of sleep but HELL I still feel fucking tired) it's because my liver was not able to regenerate properly and so I dont feel truly rested.

I'm inclined to believe this based on my personal experinces with sleeping at different hours of the day , or withholding sleep at all as compared to sleeping properly, at the right times. It's our livers!
Click to expand...

this may also explain why you are meant to take liver tablets before you go to bed
 
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