We can all most likely agree that sleep is more often undervalued in today’s ridiculously fast-paced society than ever before. Because of deadlines and different responsibilities, many people do work, social activities, and so on a priority over getting a good night of sleep.
Unfortunately, and this should come as no surprise, poor quality of sleep or inadequate sleep can have very significant consequences on your well-being, as well as your overall health. Without jumping too far into this in the second paragraph of this page, what we’re going to do next, as your trusted functional medicine Studio City provider, is to explore just how getting bad sleep can impact your emotional, mental, and physical health.
Over the next few paragraphs, we at Functional Medicine Los Angeles will highlight the overall urgency of prioritizing your quality of sleep in order to create a more enjoyable and thriving life for yourself.
Impaired Cognitive Function
One of the most immediate and well-known effects of bad sleep is impaired cognitive function. When you don’t get enough sleep, you may begin to experience difficulties with memory retention, concentration levels, and even decision-making. Sleep deprivation is able to also greatly hinder creativity and your ability to solve problems day in and day out. Trust us as experts in functional medicine Los Angeles when we say chronic sleep deprivation can impair your overall cognitive performance and affect your productivity at work, school, and even in your home life too.
Weakened Immune System
Adequate sleep, as always, has a very crucial role in promoting the positive health of your immune system. During sleep, your body releases proteins known as cytokines, which help regulate your immune responses. Having a lack of quality sleep can compromise your immune system, which, in turn, can increase your chances of catching common illnesses such as all kinds of colds and the dreaded flu.
On top of that, chronic sleep deprivation has been often associated by Functional Medicine Burbank experts with an increased risk of developing conditions that are unfortunately chronic, like diabetes and heart disease.
Emotional and Mental Health Issues
Sleep and mental health are deeply interconnected, whether we want to accept it or not.
Sadly, sleep deprivation can contribute to the development or even the worsening of mental health conditions such as anxiety and the ever plaguing depression. Facing a sleep debt can heighten emotional reactivity, making it more challenging to regulate your emotions effectively. It can also lead to increased irritability, mood swings, and a general decline in overall emotional well-being.
Weight Gain and Metabolic Disorders
Bad sleep can disrupt the balance of hormones involved in appetite regulation, leading to weight gain and a much higher risk of metabolic disorders. Sleep deprivation alters the levels of ghrelin and leptin, which are the hormones responsible for regulating satisfaction in relation to hunger (and hunger as well). When you don’t get enough sleep, your body may experience an increase in ghrelin levels, leading to cravings for high-calorie, unhealthy foods.
Additionally, sleep deprivation can impair insulin sensitivity, which as a nasty result can increase your risk of developing conditions like type 2 diabetes.
Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
You have most likely heard this before, but sleep has its own vital role in cardiovascular health. Functional medicine doctors claim that chronic sleep deprivation has been heavily linked to a higher risk of developing life-threatening conditions such as high blood pressure, various strokes, and even heart disease. Poor sleep quality and short sleep sessions actually disrupt your normal heart function, elevate your blood pressure, and contribute to the development of inflammation within the body.
Impaired Physical Performance
As difficult as this can be to realize, sleep is crucial for physical recovery and optimal performance. Athletes and individuals engaging in physical activities require sufficient sleep to repair their muscles, restore their energy levels, and promote overall efficient recovery. At the same time, operating on low amounts of sleep can lead to decreased athletic performance, impaired degrees of coordination, slower reaction times which can be dangerous, and of course, an increased risk of injuries.
How Worried Should You Be At This Point?
The point of this article was not to put fear into you, but rather to expose you to the realities of how drastic quality of sleep can impact your life and health. You should know now that bad sleep is far-reaching; it not just hurts your physical health but also your emotional and mental well-being too.
Prioritizing better quality of sleep is absolutely pertinent for maintaining an optimal level of cognitive function, supporting a healthy flourishing immune system, and overall promoting heightened emotional well-being. To improve your sleep, you’ll want to establish a consistent sleep routine, create a sleep-friendly environment, and practice some sort of relaxation techniques before heading to sleep.
In closing, remember that quality sleep is not even a luxury but a real necessity for living a fulfilling and healthy life. From here, you’ll want to take proactive steps towards prioritizing your sleep and ultimately you will reap the many benefits of improved health and better well-being. Contact us today to learn more about our Hollywood functional medicine service.