Have you ever spent your night in just turning and tossing and couldn’t get the 7-8 hours of sleep? Well, if yes, you already know how it feels next day: Tired, grumpy and cranky. Ever wondered that this insomnia can affect your physical and mental health? Yes, you read it right! Long term sleep deprivation can increase your weight as well can affect your immune system.  It is also related to diabetes, heart disease and pregnancy complications.

Researchers have also found that sleeping disorder increases the risk of early death by 12 percent. Doctors always advice to take 6 to 8 hours of nap and the reason is, when we sleep our body heals itself and restores its chemical balance. Enough sleep also helps our brain in memory retention. Our brain and body won’t function properly if we don’t sleep properly.

Affects on our brain and body: 

If you are not getting proper sleep it can affect your central nervous system. The signals that our brain sends can come to a delay. It may result in anxiety and depression. Your decision making process may also slow down.

The improper sleep habit also affects our immune system. When we sleep, our immune system produces protective, infection- fighting substances like cytokines. This substance fights the bacteria and viruses that enter our immune system. If there is sleep deprivation our body won’t be able to form the layer which will result in long term illness.

Insomnia can also increase your weight. Sleep improves digestion and maintains our body weight. Hormones that make us fall asleep are the one responsible for our appetite. Improper sleep can result in greater appetite and then increase in weight.

It is advisable to not to eat just before sleeping. Talk a walk after dinner; avoid using mobile phones as it can help you fall asleep easily.