Subtle Signs You’re Not Getting Enough Sleep

It may be summer, but between friends, jobs and other summer activities, it can be hard to get enough shut-eye. Sleeping allows us to decompress and resets the mind and body. This summer make sure you give your body the rest it needs after a long semester by getting seven to nine hours of sleep a night. Without this essential period of rest, your body will show signs of exhaustion as a cry for help. Some of these signs could be uncontrollable yawning and feelings of fatigue, but there are also more hidden signals. Here are five less-obvious signs that you need more sleep.
Vision Problems
If you feel like you’re walking around in a haze, then it could be a sign you need to start going to bed earlier. Without enough regenerative rest, your eyes can struggle to focus and make everything look hazy. Lack of sleep could also cause an onset of other eye problems, like dry eyes, spasms and even some serious eye diseases.
Breakouts
Frequent pimples or blackheads could be a signal that you’re not getting enough sleep. The phrase “beauty sleep” might actually have some truth to it, as studies have proven less sleep could lead to more acne. Sleep deprivation directly affects the amount of blood flow to the skin and can also indirectly cause acne by adding stress to the body.
Weight Gain
If you start gaining weight, then many factors could be at play, but your sleep habits could also be to blame. Sleeping less than the recommended seven to nine hours every night could cause your metabolism to slow down. In the Nurses’ Health Study, researchers found that women who slept five hours or less per night were 15 percent more likely to become obese than women who slept seven hours per night. Studies have also found a link between feelings of fatigue and unhealthy eating habits as well.
Moodiness
Frequent mood swings could mean you need more sleep. Studies have shown that sleep deprivation has a significant effect on mood. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that getting four and a half hours of sleep a night for one week caused people to feel more sad, angry, stressed and exhausted. Returning to normal sleep habits caused the same peoples’ moods to improve dramatically.
Poor Judgement
You may be more prone to make risky decisions when you’re sleep deprived. This could come down to the mental fog many people associate with a poor night’s sleep. A 2017 study by the American Neurological Association offered participants the option of a set sum of money for certain or the opportunity to gamble for a higher amount, but receive nothing if they lost. As the participants became more and more sleep-deprived, they began to gamble more, not even noticing that their decisions were becoming riskier as a result of less sleep.
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