How lack of sleep affects your body: Part 3

How lack of sleep affects your body | Insomnia problems | Sleeplessness

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Your brain

There are strong links between lack of sleep and depression and our mental health.

In the short-term, most of us will have experienced a slowing down of thought when we're tired. In fact, just one night of poor sleep affects your learning ability and memory.

After two consecutive nights of insomnia, your reactions will slow down and you'll start to make mistakes.

Mental illness has also been linked to long-term lack of sleep. Sleep basically restores our emotional brain circuits and the longer these aren't recharged, the worse the long-term effect. Lack of sleep can't cause depression, but it can make any symptoms you have a lot worse.

goodtoknow sleep tip: Have a hot milky drink. It may sound like something your mum might say, but it really does help. Milk is high in calcium which experts say is good for sleep. It's also rich in something called tryptophan which the body converts into serotonin - a natural hormone in the body that can make you sleepy.

Your colon and breasts

Recent studies have shown that people who do shift work and work nights are more likely to get breast cancer and colon cancer.

Scientists think that exposure to light at night lowers the levels of the hormone melatonin. Melatonin is thought to protect against cancer by affecting levels of other hormones, such as oestrogen. Melatonin basically is an anti-cancer hormone and protects the body against tumours.

Experts believe that this is just as likely to happen to people who suffer from disturbed sleep and insomnia.

goodtoknow sleep tip: Buy a new bed. If your bed is more than 10 years old, then it could be well past its sell-by date. Its structure is likely to be 75% worse than when it was new and will disrupt your sleep. A new bed, according to research, will give you an average of 42 minutes every night.