You would be tempted to sacrifice some sleep when you're trying to squeeze as many activities as possible into each day. This can have a bigger impact than you realize on how you feel and how well you perform. To spot the signs and symptoms that indicate you may not be getting enough sleep, we asked sleep physician, Dr. Dev Banerjee to give us some facts and advice about lack of sleep, or sleep deprivation.
Symptoms linked to lack of sleep are
- Drowsiness
- Agitation
- Moodiness
All these things affect
- Your emotional feeling
- Your working ability, lowering our productivity and increasing the chance of accidents at work or behind the wheel
To find out if you need more sleep
If you are feeling extremely tired, simply try to get more sleep to see how you function the next day, usually from seven to eight hours is normal.
Immediate boost for the people who struggle to stay awake
- Drinking coffee can give you a quick pick-me-up within 15-20 minutes if you start feeling sluggish at work
- Taking a short nap is ideal
Consequences of poor sleep
- Research shows that sleep deprivation (less than five hours a night) can put you at greater risk of heart disease, diabetes and obesity
- Poor sleep can affect how well you function during the day
Help with sleeping
- For general help, people can try to change their sleep routine by adopting healthy lifestyle changes
- If you think your sleep deprivation is affecting your health, you should visit your doctor or a specialist
Recommendations to get good quality of sleep
- Form a routine to get enough sleep each night and wake up at the right time
- Exercise regularly
- Watch your diet and eat healthily, reduce your alcohol and caffeine intake, and stop smoking if possible
Dr. Dev Banerjee has been a sleep physician in the UK since 2004, previously running sleep clinics in Sydney, Australia. He currently works at the Birmingham Heartlands Hospital and runs an independent sleep clinic at the Spire Parkway Hospital Solihull.
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