Inadequate sleep has become a public health concern, and therefore awareness of the negative impact of a lack of sleep has increased. Of course, people don’t need a public health campaign to tell them how lack of sleep negatively impacts daily functioning unfortunately, everyone has personal experience. However, it may be the less noticeable negative side effects that people need to be most aware of.
Inadequate sleep increases obesity and inflammation, impairs immune and antioxidant defenses, and negatively impacts mood.
1,2 Inadequate sleep is associated with heightened emotional reactivity, reduced attention, memory and executive cognitive function.
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It has been suggested that the circadian disruption associated with shorter sleep duration alters the gut microbiome. This in turn increases systemic inflammation associated with metabolic syndrome and may explain the connection between metabolic syndrome and inadequate sleep.