Insomnia Complications

Sleep is essential to your overall physical health and emotional wellbeing. Lack of sleep can cause complications that range from slight annoyances to severe debilitations.

Worsening Job/Academic Performance

Many people with insomnia report fatigue and an inability to concentrate throughout the day. This can lead to lower performance at work or at school. People with insomnia also have a higher rate of absenteeism from work.

Risk of Accident

Slower reaction time and lack of concentration can result in an increased risk for driving accidents and other types of accidents.

Overweight or Obesity

Research has found that short sleep duration results in metabolic changes in the body that may be linked to obesity. Children and young teenagers are at an increased risk. Studies suggest that children who get an inadequate amount of sleep are at a higher risk for becoming obese later in life.

Psychiatric Problems

While some mental health disorders, such as depression and anxiety, may be at the root of a person’s insomnia, it can also work the other way: those suffering from insomnia are more likely to develop these same mental health problems.

Increased Risk for Chronic Diseases

Research has found that insufficient sleep is linked to an increased risk of certain chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. For those who already have these types of long-term diseases, insomnia can exacerbate symptoms.

Poor Immune System Function

Some studies suggest that insomnia and lack of sleep can disturb the functioning of your immune system. However, scientists do not fully understand the connection, and further research needs to be done to pinpoint why exactly sleep is important to fighting off viruses and infections.