Negative Consequences of Not Sleeping

Insomnia reduces quality of life. Many people are unaware that their lack of sleep is the cause of their reduction in their quality of life. Studies have shown that insomnia reduces quality of life comparable to diseases such as arthritis, diabetes and heart disease.

Insomnia is a common problem that needs to be addressed. Without adequate sleep you can suffer from:

• Poor general health
• Poor concentration
• Poor judgment
• Missing work
• Increased risk of catching a cold
• Poor cognitive function
• Poor memory
• Increased risk of falls
• Poor job performance
• Increased risk of accidents
• Increased health care costs

Some people make repeated doctor appointments for a problem that is related to sleep. Neither doctor nor patient comes to the conclusion that a sleep problem is the underlying cause of the problem.

Poor sleep is associated with many health problems. It is often difficult to determine if the sleep problem was the cause or contributing factor to the disease; or if the disease came first and contributed to the sleep problem.

Because of this fact, doctors now consider insomnia a factor on equal ground with other diseases. This is important because this means that both disease and insomnia should be addressed. In years past, doctors used to treat the underlying disease and assume that the sleep disturbance would get better.

One of the major reasons that his came to fruition was when it was determined that depression was much more successfully treated when insomnia was treated at the same time.

Common co-morbid health problems include: depression, anxiety, Parkinson's disease, stroke, lung problems, dementia, heart disease, any disease that causes discomfort (such as arthritis) and sleep apnea.