We all do it— whether it is a school project, an interesting book, a party, a family emergency, or an extra shift at work, all-nighters are sometimes inevitable or fun. However, it is important to consider the effects that staying up all night has on your body, because as a habit, all-nighters are detrimental to your heath.
Let's begin with the obvious: sleep deprivation inhibits your daytime productivity.
Let's say you studied all-night for an exam. It is extremely likely that you, regardless of how much information you covered, will become extremely drowsy during said exam. This drowsiness, as reports the American Academy of Sleep Science, is more prevalent in quiet or monotonous situations. So, do not expect to be on top of your game the day after an all-nighter, and don't drive. Being awake for at least 18 hours is the same as driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08%, which is legally drunk.
Your judgement is not at its peak, either.
In 2011 a study was conducted by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and Harvard Medical School, the brains of young adults were studied as they missed a night's sleep. Their pleasure circuits, responsible for stimulating euphoria, got a big boost, but this meant that their sleep-deprived brains tended to swing to the extreme ends of the mood spectrum, "neither of which is optimal for making wise decisions", said Matthew Walker, lead author of the study and a professor of psychology and neuroscience at UC Berkeley.
And to enforce the fact that abnormal sleep schedules set you up for bad decision-making...
Memory- Sleep deprivation leads to an increased amount of protein beta amyloid in the brain. Too much of this protein is correlated to declines in thinking and memory. Furthermore, it increases the risk of dementia.
Anxiety- Your brain's amygdala and insular cortex, regions associated with emotional processing, are fired up when there is not enough sleep. Thus, anticipatory anxiety is amplified and those who are often anxious are put at risk for anxiety disorder, as reports another 2013 paper led by Walker.
Lastly, the long-term effects of habitual sleep deprivation are scary.
In addition to the aforementioned ailments, not getting enough sleep will put you at a greater risk of high blood pressure, weight gain, heart attack, diabetes, and stroke.
So get those eight hours in!
