What NOT to Do When You are Sleep-Deprived

Rebecca Lewis January 28, 2014

You probably know that when you are sleep-deprived, you tend to feel grumpy, hungry, tired and irritable. A 2012 study found that as many as one in three British workers lack enough sleep. This does not only take a toll on their mental health but on their physical health as well. Numerous studies have shown that lack of sleep can raise the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity and cancer.

And when you are sleep-deprived, there are some things you DON’T want to do. Below are some of them:

Make important decisions.

When you are tired and sleepy, you are more likely to come up with not-so-good decisions that you probably would regret later. In 2011, researchers from Duke University Medical Centre found that a night of sleep deprivation leads to increased brain activity in brain regions that assess positive outcomes, while at the same time this deprivation leads to decreased activation in the brain areas that process negative outcomes. This means sleep-deprivation make people come up with risky decisions that are based on ‘too much optimism’. In the study for instance, sleep-deprived participants tended to make decisions based on monetary gain, and were less likely to make choices that reduced loss. The authors believe that these effects may be due to the changes in the levels of neurotransmitter dopamine when a person didn’t have enough sleep.

Pick a fight.

The day after a night of tossing and turning in your bed is not the perfect time to argue with your partner, even if you are meaning to have a serious talk with him or her. Lack of sleep makes you grumpy and you probably are aware of it. That means just a little nuisance can make you emotionally vulnerable. A 2007 study by the University of California-Berkeley and Harvard Medical School found that sleep deprivation causes our emotions to go haywire. "Most people think that when you’re sleep-deprived, what happens to the brain is that it becomes sleepy and less active," says Matthew Walker, one of the researchers from Harvard. But their brain-imaging study suggested that emotional canters become "60% more reactive” when a person is sleep-deprived.

Grab an energy drink for a “pick-me-up”.

If you’re like most workaholics out there, you probably plunge into a large can of energy drink as a way to keep your senses alive during a night-long office work. But taking a quick nap, a short walk, or a cup of real coffee is much better than having energy drinks, as these beverages contain lots and lots of sugar plus other chemicals that may harm your health.

Head to the grocery store.

If you are sleep-deprived and you go shopping, you have high chances of buying unhealthy, calorie-dense foods. Last year, a study published in the journal Obesity found that sleep-deprived shoppers purchased more high-calorie food than they would have during a well-rested trip to the supermarket.

Drive.

You know you shouldn’t drive when you’re drunk. In the same way, you should also not drive when you are sleep-deprived. A 2012 study published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine found that drivers who were either drunk or sleepy were at least twice as likely to be responsible for a vehicle accident compared to their well-rested or sober counterparts.

Being a hardworking person, you deserve a long, restful sleep, and of course, better health. If you are having issues with sleep, it is most probably that you are always stressed out, you observe unhealthy lifestyle, or you are suffering from a sleeping disorder such as insomnia. If you are, you should see a therapist as soon as possible. Ignoring your sleeping problems can negatively affect your health and well-being.