The Walking Dead

A head-to-toe look at the hits your body takes when you forfeit those precious sleep hours

1. Emotional Train Wreck: People react more emotionally to life stressors when they’re tired, say researchers.
2. Brain Fuzz: Yes, decision-making and concentration abilities go kaput when we don’t sleep enough. Research also shows that sleeping too little can also age your brain by seven years.
3. Memory Fog: A 2014 study in Physiological Science says just one night of disturbed sleep can cause major distortions in memory.
4. Sad Face: According to new research in sleep, common giveaways of a restless night include droopy, swollen red eyes, pale, wrinkly skin and an aura of sadness.
5. Immunity Breakdown: Researchers say insufficient sleep ramps up your body’s inflammatory response and compromises your immune system.
6. Cell Damage: Up late last night? Think of your cells! Scientists have linked sleep loss with cell damage, particularly in the liver, lungs and small intestine.
7. Weight Gain: Forget potato chips- that snug waistband may be due to sleep deprivation. A recent study in the American Journal of Human Biology says lack of sleep inhibits the hormones that regulate our appetites and increases our risk of obesity.
8. Lagging Libido: Research shows women with sleep apnea (When your breathing repeatedly stops and starts) having higher rates of sexual dysfunction. Meanwhile, a recent study by researchers in the U.S shows women who sleep an extra hour are 14% more likely to have sex the next day.
9. More Pain, Less Gain: Poor sleepers have a heightened sensitivity to pain, says a recent study. 

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