Impact of Insomnia on Physical and Mental Health

Insomnia is a widespread sleep disorder that makes it challenging to fall asleep, stay asleep, or make you wake up too early and unable to get back to sleep. Even after waking up, you are likely to feel tired. 

Whenever you spend a night tossing and turning in the bed, you might have noticed that you wake up all tired, cranky, and out of sorts the next day. Now imagine the long-term effects of such extreme sleep deprivation in the form of insomnia. 

Insomnia puts your physical health and mental abilities at real risk. Research has linked poor sleep conditions with a number of health problems, such as weight gain and a weakened immune system. This blog will help you know the effect of insomnia on physical and mental health. 

Central nervous system

The CNS is the information highway of your body. Sleep is essential to keep it functioning regularly, but chronic insomnia can disturb how your body usually sends and processes information. 

During sleep, the pathway form between neurons (nerve cells) in the brain that helps you keep new information in mind. Sleep deprivation exhausts your brain, so it fails to perform its duties as well. 

You may also find it challenging to concentrate or focus on learning new things. The signals sent by your body may get delayed, reducing your coordination and increasing the risk for accidents.

Insomnia also negatively affects the mental abilities and emotional state of an individual. It may make you feel impatient or more prone to mood swings. It can further make you compromise your creativity and decision-making processes. 

If insomnia persists for a prolonged period, you could start experiencing hallucinations, seeing or listening to things that are not really there. Sleep deprivation can also trigger mania in individuals with a pre-existing bipolar mood disorder. Other mental health risks include:

• anxiety
• depression
• impulsive behavior
• paranoia
• suicidal thoughts

You may also end up having microsleep or narcolepsy during the day. During such episodes, you will fall asleep without realizing for a few to several seconds. Microsleep is not under your control and can be severely dangerous, especially if you are driving. It can increase your risk of injury if you operate heavy machinery at your workplace and have a sudden microsleep episode. 

Immune system 

The immune system forms protective, infection-fighting substances such as cytokines and antibodies during your sleep. With the help of these substances, your body combats foreign invaders such as viruses and bacteria. Specific cytokines also help you fall asleep, giving your immune system efficiency to defend the body against illness. 

Insomnia obstructs your immune system from forming its forces. And, if you do not get the required sleep, your body may fail to fend off the invaders and may take longer for you to recover from illness. Prolonged sleep deprivation (or insomnia) also makes you more prone to chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes mellitus.

Respiratory system 

The relationship between insomnia and the respiratory system comes from both sides. A nighttime breathing disorder is known as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can cause insomnia or other sleeping problems and lower your sleep quality. 

Due to continuously waking up throughout the night, your body can become more vulnerable to respiratory infections such as the common cold and flu. Insomnia can also worsen the existing respiratory disease, including chronic lung illness. 

Digestive system 

Besides excessing eating and not doing any physical activity, sleep deprivation is another widespread risk factor for becoming overweight and obese. Sleep primarily affects the levels of two major hormones, leptin and ghrelin, which offer control over feelings of hunger and fullness. 

Leptin informs the brain that your body has had enough to eat. Without getting enough sleep, your brain reduces the level of leptin and raises ghrelin, which works as an appetite stimulant. The flux of these hormones could clearly help you understand nighttime snacking or why some people overeat later in the night. 

Insomnia can also cause fatigue and make you feel too tired to exercise. Over time, a reduction in physical activity can make you gain more weight since you are not burning calories and not building the necessary muscle mass. 

Insomnia can also make your body release less amount of insulin after your meal. Insulin helps reduce blood sugar levels in the body. Furthermore, sleep deprivation also lowers your body's tolerance for glucose and is linked to insulin resistance. And these disruptions can result in diabetes Mellitus and obesity. 

Cardiovascular system 

Sleep affects the process that keeps your heart and blood vessels fit and healthy, including those that affect your blood pressure, blood sugar level, and inflammation levels. It also plays a significant role in building up the ability of your body to heal and repair the heart and blood vessels. 

People who have insomnia and do not get enough sleep are more likely to experience cardiovascular disease. Insomnia also increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. 

Endocrine system

Sleep predominantly affects hormone production and management in the body. For testosterone production, the body needs at least three hours of uninterrupted sleep, which is nearly the time of your first REM episode. Waking up throughout the night or having insomnia could affect hormone production. 

This interruption can further affect growth hormone production, especially in adolescents and children. These hormones boost the building of muscle mass repair cells and tissues in the body, together with other growth functions. The pituitary gland releases the growth hormone throughout the day, but physical activity and adequate sleep also help release this hormone. 

Two-way link of sleep to mental health 

Poor sleep is a well-known risk factor behind developing a wide range of mental health issues. Insomnia precedes the development of not only depression but also anxiety disorders and bipolar disorder. Furthermore, insomnia has a link with the increased risk of suicide. 

Along with increasing the risk of mental health conditions development, sleep deprivation is also a common feature of most mental problems, including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. 

Tips to save your physical and mental health from insomnia

The best measure to prevent insomnia is to ensure you get adequate sleep. You should follow an effective sleep schedule according to your age group, which is usually 7 to 9 hours for most adults aged 18 to 64 years. 

Some other effective ways to get back on track with a healthy sleep schedule to maintain proper physical and mental health include:

• refraining from caffeine past afternoon or at least a few hours before the bedtime
• limiting daytime naps, or trying to avoid them altogether
• wake up at the exact time every morning
• going to bed at the same time each night
• strictly following your bedtime schedule even during weekends and holidays
• avoiding heavy dinner within a few hours before bedtime
• spending nearly an hour before bed doing relaxing activities, such as meditating, reading, or taking a bath
• refraining yourself from using electronic devices before the bedtime
• limiting alcohol intake
• exercising daily, but not in the evening hours before going to bed

Bottom Line

Getting to sleep can be an arduous task for some people. The usual time an average person takes to sleep is 10 to 20 minutes. However, specific methods and techniques help you lessen this time, especially if you follow them regularly. 

A healthful sleep environment, good sleep hygiene, and a practical bedtime routine are vital factors in ensuring you fall asleep quickly and enjoy a quality slumber. If insomnia affects your physical and mental health, and there is no improvement in your condition, you may consult your medical healthcare professional.