Who Needs Sleep? – How Sleep Deprivation Affects Health

Whenever I deal with a bout of sleep deprivation, I often recall a comical tune by the Barenaked Ladies called “Who Needs Sleep?”  This was my personal 3 AM theme song when DS1 was still just a baby and kept me up most nights.

If you’ve never heard the song before, you’ll see a nice little video of it at the bottom of this post.  It’s quite entertaining.

So, as the headline suggests, Who Needs Sleep?  That is the title of the song, and I thought it was catchy for this post as well.

Learn how to for better sleeping habits and fall asleep faster to prevent sleep deprivation.

Sleep Deprivation & Mood Disorders

A lack of sleep can literally make you go insane.  That, of course, it worse case scenario.  Best case scenario, you’re grouchy, tired, have very little energy, feel lazy, and accomplish very little.

If you notice someone who drinks a lot of coffee and seems to always be grumpy, you can guess quite accurately that he/she doesn’t get enough sleep.  This is seen with people who are highly stressed, suffer from anxiety disorders, or are depressed.  The problem with this is that, it’s an endless cycle.  The more anxious or stressed out you are, the less you sleep; the less sleep you get, the worse your mood becomes.

I had a great deal of trouble sleeping for quite a few years.  It started out with the inability to fall asleep without the television to distract me from my thoughts.  This left me drifting off to sleep only after I was thoroughly exhausted.

It escalated to my sleep being interrupted a great deal of the time by DS1 as a baby. DS2 rarely woke me up; I slept better with him. However, constant waking, even temporary, interrupts the sleep cycle.  You spend more time drifting in and out of sleep and less time in the restful REM part of sleep.

The baby situation was unavoidable, but once both kids were sleeping through the night, my sleep deprivation was still horrible.  I stayed up late, often because I consumed an ungodly amount of caffeine throughout the day. I was tired all day, would drift to sleep or take a nap when the children were napping.  This combination left me awake later at night that I should’ve been, unable to face the day when my boys woke me up early in the morning. Combine this with anxiety and problems getting to sleep in the first place, and we had a recipe for disaster.  I was grouchy, felt lazy, and was unable to cope with small obstacles.

Thankfully, though, when things escalated beyond my control, I was prescribed prozac to help me with my anxiety.  I no longer have those nights where I can’t fall asleep because of stress.  Well, it happens rarely…maybe once every 6 months.  However, I still sometimes stay up too late, enjoying some peace and quiet to myself or some alone time with DH.  Sometimes I get into a repeating cycle of this, and it’s not healthy.  I’ll begin to notice that my mood isn’t very positive, or could even be described as terribly negative.  I may begin to feel depressed, anxious, or just down.  And it’s only because I’m tired.

Energy Boost

After days of exhaustion, a good week of getting plenty of rest and sleep means you’ll get an energy boost that no amount of caffeine can provide.  Energy drinks give you a temporary boost, and an unhealthy one at that.

While a cup of coffee a day can be healthy, a reliance on caffeine for all of your energy is not.

When I’m sleep deprived, I not only notice that my mood is very low, even depressed, but my energy level is virtually non-existent.  Nothing gets done.  I’m drifting off to sleep during the day. I’m relying on chemicals to keep me awake that are hard on my body, making me even more tired later on.  It takes longer for me to get the energy to take care of anything, and by then, half the day is gone.  My energy boost finally comes when the kids are in bed, when I should be winding down.

Then I got a few really good nights of sleep, and I noticed that my energy went through the roof and my mood improved 1000% (yes, I may be exaggerating here, but so what).

So my first step in my quest for health is to:

Get a Full Night’s Rest Every Night – Adequate Sleep for Superior Health

How I Get My Sleep

I start winding down around 9 PM.  I may put the kids down, get on the computer for a little while, and maybe wrap up a few dinner dishes that weren’t taken care of, or even do a little Pilates. But at 9 – 9:30 PM, it’s time to relax.  Depending on my mood, I will take a shower, pamper myself, watch a feel good movie, do a little light reading, cross-stitch, or snuggle on the couch with DH.  Doing this, I’m able to get tired enough by about 10:30-11:00 PM to go up to bed and fall asleep without any trouble.

I used to try working after the kids went to bed, but I found that just kept me up later.  I would work until about 10:00 – 10:30, but then I would have trouble winding down after and would stay up until 1 AM.  Not good when your kids wake you up at 6 AM.

I only recently implemented this new bedtime routine for myself, and so far it’s working wonders. I stayed up until 12 AM last night, and today noticed a decrease in my energy level.  I required a Mocha Frappe from McDonald’s this morning to give me that pick-me-up I needed to get through the morning.  It’s good to use that route when necessary, but I’m glad I don’t need the coffee every day.

Learn better sleeping habits and fall asleep faster for better health through sleep deprivation prevention.

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