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Alexander Needles

Professor Sabocinski

ENG 1201

27 March 2022

Research Essay
The topic for this research paper is about the long term effects of not getting enough

sleep. One of the reasons I chose this topic is that I feel like it is something that is relevant to

everybody’s life and well being. I feel like this is a topic that everybody can relate to, as

basically everybody has had nights there they don’t get enough sleep. We also live in a society

today where it’s perceived as normal for not getting enough sleep, and sometimes it feels like a

contest to compare to other people how much sleep you got the previous night. After my

research, I found that the long term effects of not getting enough sleep can be detrimental, and

can negatively affect your health.

While it feels like today we get less sleep in today’s society compared to older times,

studies show that the amount of sleep the average person gets in a night hasn’t changed too much

over time (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). However, the amount of sleep research done has actually increased

over the years and our understanding has increased and gotten better

(sleephealthsolutionsohio.com). Throughout early history, most scientists studied dreams, like

what caused them and what they meant. However, during the turn of the 20th century, the study

of actual sleep became more prevalent. In the 1920s, REM (rapid eye movement) was

discovered, which is the period of lighter sleep where we have dreams. Over the years, sleep

research has grown to encompass other fields, like heart and brain research, and we are starting

to understand the correlation between them more.

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I’m personally affected by this topic a lot in my life. There are a lot of nights where I get

a suboptimal amount of sleep, and it makes my day a lot harder. I feel like if I don’t get enough

sleep, it can make everyday tasks simply a lot harder than they seem, and it makes it hard to

focus. If I get a long period of getting little sleep, I start to struggle more in school because I

have a hard time paying attention during class. It also makes it hard for me to perform well in

other aspects in my life, like sports practices/games and working. I also noticed when I get

enough sleep, it makes the day go by easier and I perform better in a lot of areas in my life, like

school and sports. Overall, I’m personally affected by sleep basically everyday and I notice the

effects of it a lot.

The first way lack of sleep negatively affects your health is that it increases your chance

of type 2 diabetes. While type 2 diabetes is commonly known to be caused by eating foods high

in fat and sugar and not getting enough exercise, it can also be caused by lack of sleep. If you

don’t sleep well, it can affect your hormone levels. While you’re awake, your body releases a

hormone called cortisol, which keeps your body awake. If you’re awake for longer periods of

time, your cortisol levels increase. Increased cortisol production can lead to higher blood sugar

levels in the body. This causes your pancreas to work harder to produce more insulin, which in

turn leads to a higher chance of type 2 diabetes. Sleep can also affect your relationship with food.

If you get less sleep, you may crave higher sugar and higher fat foods. It is recommended you

get 7-9 hours of sleep a night in order keep your blood sugar levels normal to reduce the risk of

diabetes (reidhealth.org).

The second way lack of sleep negatively affects your health is that it can negatively affect

your heart health. In a 2011 study involving around 475,000 people, people who don’t get

enough sleep had a 48% higher risk of getting coronary heart disease. On the flip side, people
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who get more than 9 hours of sleep a night also have a higher chance of getting coronary heart

disease (38% increase). The reason for this is because during sleep, blood pressure drops. If you

aren’t getting enough sleep, that doesn’t give your body enough time to lower blood pressure

(webmd.com). People who suffer from sleep apnea also have a higher chance of getting heart

disease. A lot of cardiac centers have sleep experts on staff due to the correlation between sleep

and cardiac health.

The third negative effect of sleep is that it can weaken your immune system. Studies

show that lack of sleep can make you sick more often, and how well you can fight off an

infection, if you get sick. While you sleep, your body releases cytokines. Cytokines need to

increase while you’re sick or under the risk of getting sick. If you’re not getting enough sleep,

your immune system will be weakened. In addition, cells and antibodies that fight off infections

are decreased if you get little sleep (mayoclinic.org) This means that your body needs sleep in

order to fight off sickness and other infectious diseases. If you are exposed to sickness while

being sleep deprived, you will have a higher chance of getting sick.

The fourth and probably the largest negative effect of sleep is that it can affect brain

functions. During a healthy night of sleep, there are four distinct stages that occur. The first two

stages are considered light REM sleep, and the third stage is considered deep REM sleep. These

three stages of sleep help your brain make new connections which help memory. If somebody

lacks sleep, it can lower their learning ability by 40%. Emotional memories are processed

through REM sleep, which can make it easier to deal with harder and more emotional memories.

Lack of sleep can also affect somebody’s ability to learn and focus. It can also affect

somebody’s behavior and decision making skills (sleepfoundation.org). It is recommended that

people get enough sleep based on how old they are. Younger people need more sleep while older
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people need less sleep. However, excessive sleep can also lead to negative cognitive

consequences. People with sleep apnea also may have a higher chance of experiencing memory

loss. People with sleep apnea get lesser quality of sleep which in turns lead to memory problems.

The second negative effect of not getting enough sleep relating to brain function is that it

can increase an individual’s chance of getting alzheimers and dementia. During the last couple

hours of sleep, the brain undergoes a function where it clears “waste” from the brain, called beta-

amyloid. If you don’t get enough sleep, the brain has less time to get rid of this brain “waste.”

The buildup of beta-amyloid in the brain can increase the chances of dementia and alzheimers

(healthline.com).

The fifth effect of lack of sleep is how it negatively affects mental health. The first

negative effect can change how you deal with stress. If you don’t get adequate sleep, even a little

bit of stress can be extremely hard to cope with. You’re more likely to be frustrated throughout

the day, and even the most minor inconveniences can send you over the edge. Even the thought

of not getting enough sleep can be stressful.

Another negative mental health effect can be an increased chance of getting depression

and anxiety. A study done shows that lack of sleep is a predictor for generalized anxiety disorder

in adolescents aged 9-16 years old. If somebody's sleep problems are untreated, they have a very

high chance of developing anxiety. Coping with the feelings of anxiety and depression can be

very hard if you are sleep deprived. If you get poor sleep, even dealing with minor stress can be

extremely difficult and frustrating. You may find yourself short tempered and easily annoyed

with minor inconveniences. Even if you don’t have depression or anxiety, a study shows that

adults without depression and anxiety had higher chances of getting those disorders if they are

sleep deprived (verywellmind.com). Lack of sleep also affects people with bipolar disorder and
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ADHD. If somebody has bipolar and has reduced sleep, they have an increased chance of having

a manic episode. People with ADHD are more likely to have sleep disturbances which in turn

make it harder for them to focus throughout the day and stay awake.

The sixth effect of not getting enough sleep is that it can affect how you look. A study

done shows that people who don’t get enough sleep appear differently than people who got

enough sleep. People who are sleep deprived have bags under their eyes, swollen eyes, redder

eyes, and hanging eyelids. People are also more likely to have skin wrinkles and have paler skin.

Since the way you look changes how people interact with you, if you appear fatigued, people

may interact with you differently.

There are also many other minor effects of not getting enough sleep, including not being

very, unable to participate in physical activity as well, and it can affect your relationships with

other people, because lack of sleep can make you moody (health.clevelandclinic.org).

Not getting enough sleep can be detrimental to health. While somebody will obviously

notice the short term effects, they may not notice the long term effects. Today, we know nearly

all the effects of not getting enough sleep long term. There’s a grocery list of effects of not

getting enough sleep, with the effects ranging from minor to life threatening. The amount of

sleep somebody gets can greatly affect their life, in the short term and especially the long term,

either for good or bad.

While there are not many valid counter arguments of getting enough sleep, there are

common misconceptions about sleep. The first common misconception is that the human body

can get used to not getting enough sleep. This is simply not true, as our body can’t get used to

not sleeping (webmd.com). The second common misconception is that insomnia only affects

somebody’s ability to fall asleep. Insomnia can affect the time you wake up, how often you wake
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up, and how you feel after you wake up. A third common misconception is that the only part of

sleep that matters is how long you sleep. Sleep quality is also very important, like how long you

stay asleep and how many times you wake up throughout the night.

In conclusion, the negative effects of not getting enough sleep are shocking and

detrimental. While there are effects of sleep that everybody will notice in the short term like

grogginess, eye bags, and just simply feeling tired, there are tons of effects that can occur long

term that a lot of people don’t know about. These long term effects include negative effects to

your mental and physical health, which in turn can lead to fatal outcomes. Getting adequate sleep

every night is extremely important to maintaining good health, and should not simply be

overlooked or not taken seriously.

Works Cited

Rosenberg, Dr. Carl, and Sleep Health Solutions. “The History of Sleep Study: Blog.” Sleep
Health Solutions, 20 Nov. 2020, https://www.sleephealthsolutionsohio.com/blog/history-
of-sleep-research/.
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Youngstedt, Shawn D, et al. “Has Adult Sleep Duration Declined over the Last 50+
Years?” Sleep Medicine Reviews, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Aug. 2016,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4769964/.

“Blog: Connection between Lack of Sleep and Type 2 Diabetes.” Reid Health,
https://www.reidhealth.org/blog/the-connection-between-lack-of-sleep-and-type-2-
diabetes#:~:text=Lack%20of%20sleep%20causes%20less,of%20developing
%20type%202%20diabetes.

“Can Lack of Sleep Make You Sick?” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical
Education and Research, 28 Nov. 2018, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-
conditions/insomnia/expert-answers/lack-of-sleep/faq-20057757.

“Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep.” National Institute of Neurological Disorders and

Stroke, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Understanding-
Sleep#:~:text=Sleep%20is%20important%20to%20a,up%20while%20you%20are
%20awake.

“Memory & Sleep: How Deprivation Affects the Brain.” Sleep Foundation, 11 Mar. 2022,
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/memory-and-sleep.

Cherry, Kendra. “What Impact Does Sleep Have on Mental Health?” Verywell Mind,
Verywell Mind, 24 Feb. 2020, https://www.verywellmind.com/how-sleep-affects-
mental-health-4783067#:~:text=Lack%20of%20sleep%20is%20linked,%2C
%20anxiety%2C%20and%20bipolar%20disorder.

Silver, Kate. “Why Good Sleep Matters for Your Heart's Health.” WebMD, WebMD,
https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/how-sleep-affects-your-heart.

“Common Sleep Myths and Facts.” WebMD, WebMD, https://www.webmd.com/sleep-

disorders/sleep-fact-fiction.