Dangers of lack of sleep: Who doesn’t like a peaceful sleep? Scientists also say that a healthy adult should sleep for 7 to 8 hours a day without any interruption, but some people, in a bid to make a world record, try dangerous things like the ‘no sleep challenge’, which can even take their lives. Professor Adam Taylor of Lancaster University, England, explained what damages can be caused to health due to lack of sleep.

This man did not sleep for 11 days

We all know the feeling of tiredness and discomfort that comes after a night of sleeplessness. Some users on social media are competing to set a record for staying awake for several days and nights by taking part in the ‘No Sleep Challenge’. A YouTuber named Norm (19) was live streaming his attempt to set a world record for the longest time spent without sleep on the site. After 250 hours, viewers began expressing concern about Norm’s health, but he didn’t stop and went on to spend a period of 264 hours and 24 minutes ‘without sleep’.

Guinness World Records has banned this challenge

After this, social media sites like YouTube and Kik banned him. Norm claimed to have broken the Guinness World Record for staying awake for the longest time, which was not true. This world record is registered in the Guinness Book in the name of Robert MacDonald, who spent 453 hours i.e. about 19 days without sleeping in 1986. Due to security reasons, Guinness World Records stopped monitoring the record of spending the longest time without sleeping in 1997. This was a right step.

Disadvantages of not sleeping for many days

Going without sleep for a long time can prove to be extremely dangerous. Adults should try to sleep more than 7 hours every night. Consistently not getting enough sleep increases the risk of suffering from life-threatening diseases such as depression, diabetes, obesity, heart attack, high blood pressure and stroke. Sleep is an important part of our daily life. It enables many of our body systems to rest and repair and recover from damage.

During the first three stages of sleep, the parasympathetic nervous system is active, which controls digestion and relaxation. This reduces heart rate and blood pressure. In the last stage, i.e. Rapid Eye Movement (REM) stage, heart activity increases and the eyes start moving. This stage is essential for cognitive functions such as creativity, learning ability and storing memories.

First Day

Consuming alcohol or caffeine before bedtime can disrupt the sleep cycle. Sleep deprivation can be acute or chronic. Acute sleep deprivation can mean not being able to sleep for a day or two. Although this may seem like a short period, going 24 hours without sleep can have many dangerous consequences besides a lack of concentration. It can cause symptoms such as puffy eyes, dark circles, irritability, memory loss, confusion, inability to make quick decisions and analyze information, and increased food cravings.

Second Day

If you go a second day without sleep, the symptoms can get more severe and changes can be seen in the person’s behavior. The body’s desire for sleep becomes more intense, due to which the person starts taking ‘microsleeps’, that is, he starts taking unwanted naps, which can last for about 30 seconds. Lack of sleep also increases the desire to eat and there are complaints of various systems becoming overactive and the immune system becoming weak, due to which we are more susceptible to diseases.

Third Day

Staying awake on the third day increases the desire to sleep, which increases the risk of a person experiencing longer periods of ‘microsleep’, feeling detached from the real world, and becoming confused.

Fourth Day

At the same time, after spending the fourth day without sleep, the symptoms reach their peak and take the form of ‘sleep deprivation psychosis’, where the person becomes unable to interpret reality and wants to sleep at all costs. The process of recovering from problems caused by lack of sleep is different for each person. Some people can get rid of all the symptoms by sleeping deeply for just one night. At the same time, many people may take several days or weeks to recover from these symptoms.

Disadvantages of working night shifts

However, studies show that replacing sleep often does not reverse the changes in metabolic function that lead to weight gain and decreased insulin sensitivity, even in cases when a person goes without sleep for a relatively short period. Professionals working different shifts can often face sleep deprivation. People working night shifts typically sleep an average of one to four hours less than those working day shifts. This may increase their risk of premature death.

Sleeping less invites death ,

By the way, many studies have already shown that too little sleep is associated with an increased risk of premature death. Similarly, too much sleep has also been found to be associated with an increased risk of premature death. In such a situation, it is better that people avoid joining social media challenges like ‘No-Sleep Challenge’ and try to get seven to nine hours of sweet sleep every night. Your body will thank you for this.

Rahul Dev

Cricket Jounralist at Newsdesk

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