Sleeping a little to age before? The effects of sleep deficiency on the body

It will have happened to everyone to spend a night in white and feel slowed, irritable, with the annoyed mind and even the simplest activity seems to be an insurmountable mountain. Sleeping badly or little does not make us grow old directly, but negatively affects the whole body From memory, to the immune system, from metabolism to processes of repairing tissues. Quiet, you will not find yourself prematurely with stick and denture for a night in white, but the set of damage of the sleep deficiency chronic It brings, in addition to the classic dark circles and bags, to a worst quality of life, indirectly influencing life expectancy. Defined by the magazine Lancet like “a neglected public health problem“, The lack of sleep is also related to a greater risk of making accidents, both road and at work.

Sleeping little could negatively affect memory and learning

Sleep is not a simple passive state in which we put ourselves in stand-by, but when we actually sleep our body and our brain are in full business. In fact, during sleep, in particular that Rem and slow waves, the memoriesallowing us to strengthen and store in the brain (especially in the hippocampus) what we lived and learned during the day. Sleeping little or bad, he can increase the risk of not remembering information and that is why adequate sleep is fundamental in the processes of learning.

Furthermore, during sleep there would be a sort of “purification” of harmful substances from the brain, such as the β-amyloida protein whose brain accumulation is related to the development of Alzheimer’s disease. In particular, already after a fragmented night of sleep there is an accumulation of this protein in the hippocampus and the thalamus, areas responsible for the imagination and elaboration of memories and therefore of memory.

Sleep and hormones: from hunger to the regeneration of fabrics

Sleeping little and fragmentedly is also associated with the increase in the risk of obesity and diabetes, because sensitivity to the sensitivity are negatively influencedinsulin and the levels of cortisolwhich in turn can interfere with the adjustment of glucose. The lack and sleep disorders can disturb the delicate balance of other hormones. When we sleep little, they can increase the levels of gatheringthe hormone of the hungerand decrease those of leptinthe hormone of the satietymaking these two sensations unbalance (hunger and satiety) and increasing the risk of metabolic pathologies.

During sleep, our body is committed to repairing and regenerate damaged fabrics or to be replaced and it is just as we sleep that thegrowth hormone (Growth Hormone, GH). Scarce and fragmented sleep, especially in childhood and adolescence, can in fact adversely affect not only on memory and learning, but also on growth processes.

The possible effects on the immune system and the “beauty sleep”

Sleep deficiency can also affect ours immune system: by increasing the concentrations of pro-inflammatory moleculeswhich, when they are in excess, are potentially harmful to our body; and instead decreasing the activity of lymphocytes and natural killer cells, that is ours first line of defense which coordinates both the innate and immediate immune response and the long -term one. This would translate into a lower ability of the immune system to respond to external threats, such as virus And pathogensexposing us to a greater risk of contracting infections.

Furthermore, like any night, he will have tried on his own skin, a sleepless night also has effects on ours skin. On the other hand, we have always heard of the so -called “beauty sleep”. The lack of sleep damages the functionality of the epidermal barrier and leads to a greater one water loss Transdermally (that’s why the skin seems more dry when we sleep badly). Everything translates with dull skin, more visible wrinkles, irregular complexion and, of course, bags and dark circles.

The socio-economic impact of sleep deficiency

It is not only our body that is damaged by the lack of sleep. As reported by Lancetsleep an average of 6 hours per night, instead of the classics 7-9 hourscan lead to a risk of mortality of 13%higher, also due to the increase in road accidents and at work and medical errors.

Furthermore, always on the basis of this analysis, it is estimated that only in 2025 the consequences of the deficiency of sleep in terms of absenteeism at work And productivity loss they could lead to an estimated loss of 718 billion dollars In the five countries taken into consideration in the investigation (USA, United Kingdom, Japan, Germany and Canada).