12 Signs Of Sleep Deprivation

1. Being constantly fatigued

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Constantly feeling fatigued isn't normal. And the first question to ask yourself is, are you getting enough sleep? If you are sleep-deprived the first and most obvious symptom that you will feel is fatigue. You won't have enough energy for the day without feeling exhausted.

2. Feeling super emotional

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When you are sleep deprived it causes you to feel super emotional. You cannot handle your own feelings as well as you normally would. Instead, when something happens when you are sleep-deprived, however minor it may be, you can find yourself feeling completely overwhelmed by it.

3. Not being able to focus

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Our brains need sleep to be able to have the energy to focus. Concentrating uses a lot of our mental energy, so to someone who is sleep-deprived this is going to be impossible. You physically cannot function in the same way as you can when you have had a good night's sleep.

4. Forgetting things a lot

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Because you are sleep deprived you don't have the mental capacity to store information. Sleep is the thing. When we sleep, this is when our memories are set into our minds. So when we don't sleep, this cannot happen. You'll find that you keep forgetting things, both small and important!

5. Not being able to control our emotions

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If you're sleep deprived you'll probably notice that you're not managing to contain your emotions. You may be experiencing outbursts and snapping at people for little things. You may find yourself breaking down over minor inconveniences. Your emotions really suffer when you haven't slept.

6. Getting sick frequently and not being able to fight it off

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Another aspect of your health that plummets when you've not had enough sleep is your immune system. We need sleep to repair our bodies and strengthen our immune systems to fight off infection. Without sleep your body can't effectively do this so you may keep getting sick.

7. Decreased libido

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You may also notice a difference in the bedroom when you're sleep-deprived because your libido can decrease. When you've consistently had no sleep the last thing you'll feel like doing is exerting unnecessary energy in any department, even when it comes to intimacy!

8. Depressed feelings

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Sleep deprivation can take a serious toll on your mental health and you may start to experience depressed feelings. You naturally feel more negative about everything when you've had no sleep and you cannot look at things with the same perspective you would usually have.

9. Getting frequent headaches

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Headaches are another common sign of sleep deprivation. If you keep experiencing headaches it can naturally make you worry. The first and most simple answers to check are usually have you drank enough and slept enough? Sleep deprivation can cause headaches or even migraines in some people.

10. Feeling unmotivated

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Even if you've had a few fewer hours of sleep than usual you'll notice your motivation plummet. When you're properly sleep deprived you may feel like your motivation is at 0 because you have no energy. It's a clear sign that you haven't had enough sleep if you've been feeling constantly unmotivated.

11. Craving more sugar and junk foods

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Sleep deprivation causes a shift in your hormones, and in particular, your hormones that control your hunger. Another sign that you are sleep deprived is when you start to crave unhealthy or sugary things, which is caused by your body releasing more of the hunger hormones when you sleep less.

12. Doing things without even realizing

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You know when you feel so tired that you'll catch yourself doing things without thinking and then you'll stop and think 'wait, what am I doing again?'. Like when you walk into a room and suddenly question why you went there. This happens when we're sleep-deprived as we run on auto-pilot.

13. Tripping up and dropping things

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The less sleep we get, the more clumsy we get because our senses and responses are much slower when your brain has a lack of energy because of no sleep. So another sign that you're sleep-deprived is when you start tripping up, dropping things, and being all around more clumsy.

14. Struggling to stay awake

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It makes total sense that when you're sleep-deprived you struggle to stay awake. In fact, unless you're running on adrenaline your body will be telling you to sleep. Your body needs sleep to run. So if you're falling asleep at every given point...you're sleep-deprived!

15. You're crying a lot

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When we hear something when we've had a good sleep we can respond rationally. On the other hand, if we hear something remotely negative when we sleep deprived our first response is probably to cry. Crying all the time can sometimes be as simple as the fact that you haven't had enough sleep!

16. Gaining weight

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Being sleep-deprived probably means that you're eating at strange times. You may find yourself eating later because you are sleeping later, so your body is storing the food as fat rather than burning it. You're also probably eating more because what energy the body does not have in sleep it will be trying to make up for in food.

17. Flare-ups of bowel issues

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One thing you may not realize is connected to sleep deprivation is your bowel movement and gut health. However, sleep deprivation can disrupt the normal functioning of your digestive system, meaning that it may slow down or speed up, which sometimes causes extremes such as diarrhea or constipation.

18. Increased sensitivity to pain

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It can also cause an increased sensitivity to pain, so the things you feel may seem a lot more painful than usual, or things that normally wouldn't bother you are causing you pain. This is because sleep deprivation can cause a heightened response to the central nervous system which makes us more aware of pain.

19. Slower reaction time

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And of course, we cannot have no sleep and expect to react as quickly as we usually would. Sleep is so important for our cognitive function, that when we don't have sleep it impairs our ability to process information quickly or make a decision. So, you may react super slowly!

20. Not wanting to socialize

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During a state of being sleep deprived, your body can just about allow yourself to function at a minimal level. So your body and mind do not want to exert energy in other aspects of your life, such as socializing. So all you'll feel like doing is being alone and doing nothing.

21. Feeling as though everything is stressful

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When you're sleep deprived everything feels too much, everything seems stressful, everyone is annoying and it's all just totally overwhelming. This is because you cannot cope with everything the same way. Your brain cannot process in the same way and it can lead to everything feeling too much!

22. Not wanting to do anything

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You probably just feel like you just don't want to do anything at all. You can't be bothered with your work, or to do the hobby you normally love or cook yourself a meal. But is it any wonder when you are sleep-deprived? It's a clear and common sign that you're not getting enough sleep.

23. Having a lot of screen time

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You'll probably notice that the less sleep you are getting the more time you are spending on things like watching TV or scrolling your phones. This is because we don't have to think about much, we have the entertainment provided for us whilst we can sit back because we don't have the energy to do other things. But this can exacerbate the sleep deprivation!

24. Stinging eyes

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Our eyes are one of the physical things we notice when we don't get enough sleep. They feel heavy and start stinging because you are super tired. So if you have been noticing that your eyes are sore and feel heavy it could well be a sign that you are suffering from sleep deprivation.

25. Pale skin and blue under eyes

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Another thing you may notice if you have sleep deprivation is that when you look into the mirror your usual skin complexion isn't there. You're looking pale and the blue around your eyes is prominent. This is because the blood is being directed to more vital aspects of our body where they require more energy.

26. Exacerbated skin problems

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Perhaps you've been suffering from skin problems and have noticed them getting worse. Ask yourself, have you been getting enough sleep? People are quick to assume that they used the wrong product or ate something that triggered their skin when it can actually also be a sign of sleep deprivation.

27. Feeling anxious

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Sleep deprivation can trigger feelings of anxiety and it can also make people who already suffer from anxiety, so much worse. In fact, one of the most important aspects of naturally keeping anxiety under control is ensuring that you have enough sleep so that you can feel better mentally.

28. Slurred speech

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With our brain receptors working slower due to a lack of energy, slurred speech can be one of many signs of sleep deprivation. Tiredness can mean that you cannot properly function and form your words because your brain is working at a slower pace than you are speaking.

29. Feeling sickly

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Another sign of sleep deprivation is feeling generally unwell and nauseous. You may start to feel sickly when you do not have enough sleep because your body isn't able to fight things off and so you can start to feel the negative effects. And the tiredness takes its toll on your body.

30. Making lots of mistakes at work

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As well as affecting you personally, other aspects of your life will start to suffer when you have sleep deprivation. You will not be able to function well at work and will probably find that you start to make a lot of mistakes without even realizing it!