Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Sleep

Don't Underestimate the Importance of Sleep

Sleep, or rather the lack of it, has become a punchline for many jokes. You may have seen skits on television, online memes or articles where someone mentions they run on caffeine or some other stimulant rather than sleep.

You might be someone who does that in your own life. Maybe not getting sleep is something that you’ve minimized as not a high priority. Sometimes you even brag that you’re able to function on just a few hours of sleep.

Going for days without getting the rest you need might even be something you feel a little bit proud of - like you’ve gained extra time over those who do sleep for eight hours every night like clockwork.

Some people turn to other substances in an effort to give themselves energy that they lose from missing out on sleep. One of these things is caffeine drinks. They’ll down a few of these and get jolted enough to be able to function for a few hours or even days.

The problem is that losing sleep isn’t a joking matter. When you lose sleep, even if you don’t feel it, the missed opportunity is causing problems. When you lose sleep, several things happen.

It begins with you struggling with your cognitive skills. You’ll have issues with your ability to make wise decisions. Having to reason through something will cause problems because the brain’s ability to find solutions is affected.....