In recent years there has been a move towards living a lifestyle that involves a lot of hustle. Naturally one should be immensely proud of the effort that they have put into their professional lives and how far they have come. Usually, however, this success comes with strings attached. This is in the form of late sleepless nights spent staring at a computer screen unable to move until the wee hours of the night only to sleep for a while and then wake up to the same hectic routine.
Many have complained that companies have taken advantage of the fact that working from home is so widespread and common now that the concept of decent working hours has been blurred.
For employers, their employees are available 24/7 around the clock at their beck and call. With one text message, one email, and one call you can ask your subordinate to redo the budget, rewrite the proposal, or make an emergency presentation. Being away from the office is no longer a valid excuse.
The mental side effects of this stress have been known for quite some time now. People are becoming more and more aware of the mental health issues that are associated with overworking. However, the effects that those late nights have on your body are never discussed in a detailed context. Hopefully, this blog will help you understand the consequences of those actions and therefore help you live a healthier and happier life.
Late nights and lack of sleep tend to go hand in hand. It’s a trade-off. If you want to complete that project deadline before 7 am, you’ll have to stay awake till 7 am. In some cases, you’ll click on submit, roll-over, and then go to sleep. However, chances are that you only have to prepare yourself for the day to come after that last-minute submission. When your body has been deprived of sleep for too long it starts to deteriorate in a sense.
Some of the side effects of this are specific only to your sleep cycle. For example, if you are depriving yourself of sleep because you want to meet a deadline for a project, chances are that even after the project ends and you can finally go back to your regular healthy sleep cycle, you won’t be able to. This is because your body gets used to the irregular sleeping pattern. So no matter how hard you may try, you won’t be able to get that sleep you’ve been coveting for so long.
Late nights can also have a deteriorating effect on the body. This can cause multiple complications including but not limited to obesity, heart disease, and even diabetes. All of this will later have a strong negative impact on your body, you will essentially be decreasing your life expectancy by a large amount.
After several sleepless nights, the lack of sleep will cause your body’s mental health to take a toll. Your brain will begin to fog up and you wouldn’t be able to think clearly or make the right decisions. You will begin to feel sleepy and tired the entire day and this could increase the risk of you injuring yourself. For example, fatigue could cause you to fall asleep when you are driving and therefore risk major accidents as well.
The lack of sleep could then also cause your body to be on high alert and therefore not be able to function the same way. Heart diseases due to discomfort are common.
You can also request your doctor to provide you with sleeping medication however, this would solely depend on your condition and what your doctor thinks is right.
Ayesha Aslam Mughal MD
