Sneaky Sleep Deprivation

A few years back I was going through this particularly stressful time period and all my systems were just out of whack. I developed this delightful little eye twitch that–while probably imperceptible to the people around me–drove me absolutely bonkers. It distracted me to no end and I felt like it was a symptom of everything that was going wrong at that time! Looking back, I was definitely catastrophizing about the eye twitch. But at the time it was just awful.

Well, turns out, the eye twitch showed up because I was sleep deprived. See, I’d gotten into this cycle of stress during the day, not enough wind-down time at night, I’d lie in bed at night awake thinking stressful thoughts about my stress, and then I couldn’t sleep, next morning I’d down double my normal dose of coffee. After  a few days of this along comes the delightful eye twitch. And yes, the eye twitch was ultimately caused by a number of things: stress, caffeine consumption, sleep deprivation. But I was able to get it all back on track (and ultimately eliminate the eye twitch) by getting my sleep system back on track.

Here are some other less commonly known effects of sleep deprivation:

-Increased appetite and carb cravings

-Clumsiness and reduced reaction time→ sleep deprivation has been linked has been shown to lead to increased accidents

-Forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating

-Difficulty learning

-Reduced sex drive

-Increased risk for chronic health conditions, like diabetes or heart disease

-Psychiatric symptoms, like depression, paranoia, suicidal ideation and hallucinations

So next time you have an unusual symptom or concern arise and you’re not sure where it’s coming from, check in and ask yourself if you’re getting enough sleep. It could be the culprit!

Wondering if you’re sleep deprived? Check out this quick questionnaire to explore if you are. Also read this post to learn more about what you can do if you’re sleep deprived.