THE EFFECTS OF NOT GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP*

: Sleep is an essential function of the human body. As we go about our daily tasks and expend energy, it is important that we restore the body powers used up. One basic way we do this is getting enough sleep. It's a period of unconscious rest which rejuvenates the body, and it's recommended to be between 7 to 9 hours in a day.

For most people, getting to sleep for such long hours seems only possible at night due to the busyness of our schedules during the day. However, we still often deprive ourselves enough sleep or rest at night---probably because we feel there's too much to do or because we've not yet achieved our goals. So, invariably a day, we may eventually work ourselves up without rest.

When the body does not sleep, it is deprived of the time to heal itself and restore its chemical balance. As a result, a lot of functions in the body are disrupted---this tells on our productivity each day. Other factors apart from time may deprive us of enough sleep. Some may include the influence of drugs, the feeling of having a lot to do and external factors such as noise.

Not getting enough sleep has a lot of effect on the body. It leaves the brain exhausted such that it won't function well. As a result, it affects decision making processes and may create mood swings. Also, it may lead to depression and suicidal thoughts. Besides all these, sleep deprivation is able to make one prone to common cold, obesity and high blood pressure.

It is important that we incorporate rest into our work schedule---particularly, time to sleep. This would make us healthy and fit to perform the day's work. More importantly, we would be more effective, more efficient and more productive in what we do.

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