Can’t stop eating? It’s a sign you’re not getting enough sleep
IT’S well known that being sleep-deprived can leave you feeling tired and more anxious. Here are some of the more subtle clues that you’re not getting enough shut-eye...
YOU ALWAYS SEEM TO HAVE A COLD
THOSE who get six hours of sleep a night are four times more likely to get a cold, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in the U.S. found last year.
White blood cells called lymphocytes, which attack viruses and bacteria, don’t reproduce effectively when we’re sleep-deprived.
DRINKS GO STRAIGHT TO YOUR HEAD
SLEEP experts say that just one unit of alcohol has the same effect as three units when we’re feeling tired.
This is possibly because both reduce reaction times, accuracy and speed.
YOU’VE LOST YOUR SENSE OF HUMOUR
FINDING something funny is a complex process that requires attention, memory and divergent thinking, and involves the brain imagining several scenarios or solutions at once. When we are
feeling tired, it can be too much effort, so nothing seems funny.
YOUR VOICE SOUNDS ROBOTIC AND FLAT
MUSCLES in the throat that govern the sound of our voice are not as well controlled when we’re tired. This changes the sound of letters, too. Ps become Bs, Ts sound like Ds and Ks are more like Gs.
YOU FIND PAIN A LOT HARDER TO COPE WITH
IN TRIALS at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health last year, insomniacs were asked to hold their hand in cold water for as long as possible (this is a common pain tolerance test) — they were found to remove it much earlier than those who were sleeping well. One theory is that the number of inflammatory chemicals involved in pain are raised after a poor night’s sleep.
PEOPLE KEEP TELLING YOU TO CHEER UP
WE’RE less able to control the muscles in our face when we’re sleep-deprived, meaning our mouths droop, which can make us look as if we’re in a bad mood.
YOU CAN’T STOP EATING
U.S. SCIENTISTS found that sleep deprivation could lead to weight gain of 2lb a week.
This is probably because our willpower weakens when we’re tired and we produce 20 per cent more ghrelin, an appetitestimulating hormone, and about 20 per cent less leptin, which tells us when to stop eating.