Sleep Deprivation: Symptoms, Causes, Risk Factors, and Treatments

We’ve all been there — waking up before we want to, a night of tossing and turning and feeling the weight of yesterday’s fatigue still lingering on our shoulders. These could all be signs of sleep deprivation and, while occasionally normal, it can wreak havoc on you and how you feel during your waking hours. 

Read on to learn more about sleep deprivation as a whole, plus what you can do if you’re relating to that symptom list and not getting the Zzz’s you need to feel your best.

Note: The content on Sleepopolis is meant to be informative in nature, but it shouldn’t be taken as medical advice, and it shouldn’t take the place of medical advice and supervision from a trained professional. If you feel you may be suffering from any sleep disorder or medical condition, please see your healthcare provider immediately.

What is Sleep Deprivation?

Sleep deprivation simply means that you’re not getting enough sleep. From that definition, we’d venture to guess that 100 percent of the population has experienced sleep deprivation at some point. When you factor in things like work stress, life stress, new babies, illness, pain — you name it, all of the above can affect your sleep and ultimately lead to sleep deprivation.

And while a sleepless night here or there is just part of being human, prolonged sleep deprivation can have significant and adverse effects on your health. The side effects of sleep deprivation can range from minor annoyances like daytime sleepiness and irritability to more serious health conditions, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. (4) (5) 

Chronic Sleep Deprivation vs Acute Sleep Deprivation

Sleep deprivation can be divided into two camps: 

• Acute sleep deprivation: This refers to a short-term lack of sleep, usually lasting up to several days and resulting from 1-2 nights of inadequate rest. The immediate effects of acute sleep deprivation include fatigue, impaired cognitive function, and mood disturbances. Some people find this can be remedied by getting a night or two of extra sleep. However, one study found that one hour of missed sleep can take up to four days to fully recover from. (6) Another older study found that after a week of getting only five hours of sleep per night, participants recovered after two nights of extended sleep. (7)
• Chronic sleep deprivation: This refers to long-term insufficient sleep over weeks, months, or even years. It typically leads to more severe health issues such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, as well as impaired cognitive function that can affect memory and decision-making. To remedy chronic sleep deprivation requires consistent, adequate sleep to reverse its effects over a prolonged period. One study found that even one week of prolonged sleep following chronic sleep deprivation wasn’t enough to fully recover. (8)

How Much Sleep Do You Need? 

Sleep is your body’s designated time to repair, recharge, and rejuvenate. But despite its importance, recent surveys show that only 25-50 percent of American adults get the recommended amount of sleep. (9)

The problem with sleep deprivation isn’t localized to the United States, either, with global reports indicating that 10-40 percent of adults around the world say they have trouble sleeping. (9)

So, how much sleep are we supposed to be getting? According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, here are the recommended amounts by age group: (10)

• Infants 4 months to 12 months should sleep 12 to 16 hours per 24 hours (including naps).
• Children 1 to 2 years of age should sleep 11 to 14 hours per 24 hours (including naps).
• Children 3 to 5 years of age should sleep 10 to 13 hours per 24 hours (including naps).
• Children 6 to 12 years of age should sleep 9 to 12 hours per 24 hours.
• Teenagers 13 to 18 years of age should sleep 8 to 10 hours per 24 hours.
• Adults should sleep 7 or more hours per night.

A good rule of thumb is that children and teenagers need more sleep than adults. And while most people mistakenly believe that someone in their 70s or 80s needs less sleep, they need the same amount of sleep they needed 20 or 30 years prior. 

Symptoms of Sleep Deprivation 

How can you tell if you’re experiencing sleep deprivation? While trouble getting out of bed (a sign of sleep inertia) may be the first clue, here are some of the symptoms you might notice as a result of not getting enough sleep:

• Unintentional weight gain: Sleep deprivation can lead to weight gain due to disruptions in hormones that regulate appetite and metabolism, often resulting in increased calorie intake and decreased energy expenditure. (11)
• Getting sick more often: Lack of adequate sleep compromises the immune system, making individuals more susceptible to infections and illnesses because the body’s ability to fight off pathogens is diminished. (12)
• Cognitive changes: Sleep deprivation impairs memory, concentration, and decision-making, affecting overall performance in daily tasks and activities. (13)
• Mood changes: Sleep-deprived individuals often experience mood swings, irritability, and increased feelings of stress and anxiety, which can impact personal relationships and emotional well-being. (14)
• Daytime sleepiness: Insufficient sleep leads to excessive daytime sleepiness, affecting alertness, reaction times, and the ability to stay focused and engaged throughout the day. (15)

Causes of Sleep Deprivation 

Sleep expert Cyrus Haghighian, M.D. at Los Angeles Center for Ear, Nose, Throat, and Allergy tells Sleepopolis, “Sleep deprivation is often caused by the person themselves not getting enough sleep, such as college students pulling an all-nighter to study. Or if a patient has chronic insomnia, or difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, that might cause them to not be getting a sufficient amount of sleep.”

Furthermore, Carlos M. Nunez, M.D. and Chief Medical Officer at ResMed says, “Pre-existing medical issues may also be the reason for troubled sleep. Chronic body pains, gastroesophageal reflux, lung problems, heart disease, and even sleep apnea can greatly hinder your ability to receive a good night’s sleep.”

What triggers sleep deprivation in one person may not be the same thing for another, but there are several common causes worth considering if you’re experiencing insufficient rest: 

• Stress: Stress can easily detract from the quantity and quality of your sleep. Not only has research shown that stress can make it harder to fall asleep, but it can also lead to disrupted sleep and reduce the amount of slow-wave sleep you have. (Slow-wave sleep is the most restorative sleep stage and most commonly tied to sleep quality and maintenance.) (16)
• Anxiety: Like stress, anxiety also makes it tougher to fall asleep and can lead to fragmented and poor-quality sleep. It’s also worth noting that anxiety and sleep deprivation can have a cyclical relationship. Not only can anxiety cause sleep deprivation, but sleep deprivation can lead to or worsen anxiety and anxiety disorders. Moreover, research also shows that those prone to anxiety are even more sensitive to the effects of sleep deprivation, further provoking their anxiety. (17)
• Lifestyle: New parents and night shift workers are among those most impacted by disrupted sleep, albeit for different reasons. (18) Research shows that your shut-eye won’t return to normal until somewhere around six years after the birth of your first child. (19)
• Medications: Pharmaceuticals often have a long list of potential side effects, which may include disrupted sleep. This is more common among certain steroids, stimulants, pain medications, antidepressants, and heart medications. (20)
• Sleep disorders: Insomnia, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, and narcolepsy can lead to sleep deprivation. (21)
• Illness: If you’ve ever had the flu or a common cold, then you know illness can keep you up at night thanks to congestion, a headache, body aches, or other discomfort. 
• Poor sleep hygiene: Personal habits such as drinking caffeine or alcohol in the hours leading up to bedtime, smoking cigarettes, or failing to manage stress within a few hours before bed can all make it less likely that you’ll fall asleep quickly enough to enjoy adequate amounts of sleep. (22)
• Sleep environment: If your bedroom is noisy, bright, or excessively hot or cold, that’s going to inhibit your ability to sleep through the night. The same goes for anyone who sleeps near a person who regularly snores in their sleep. (23)
• Pregnancy: Being pregnant isn’t just physically challenging (hello to all the moms who have tried to get comfortable in their beds at nine months pregnant), but also physiologically and taxing, which can make it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. (24)

Effects of Sleep Deprivation 

Jean-Baptiste Beau, sleep expert and Founder and CEO of the dream app, Oniri, tells us, “Sleep is an essential part of physical and mental health. Sleep deprivation can weaken the immune system, increase the risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension, and contribute to mental health disorders like depression and anxiety.” He continues, “It’s a vicious cycle because sleep deprivation increases stress and anxiety, which then makes it harder to sleep.”

Needless to say, it can be a frustrating cycle. But if sleep deprivation is left unaddressed, it can have more significant effects on your health and well-being, in the short and long term. (25)

Short-Term Effects of Sleep Deprivation

The short-term effects of sleep deprivation are both immediate and noticeable, impacting your ability to function. Even after just one night of poor sleep, it’s not uncommon to experience: (26)

• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Trouble remembering things
• Trouble concentrating
• Slower reaction times
• Increased feelings of anxiety, depression, and stress
• Reduce alertness and coordination

Nunez says, “Even one night of poor sleep can lead to excessive daytime sleepiness, which may increase the risk of automobile or workplace accidents, or even accidents in the home.”

Long-Term Effects of Sleep Deprivation

Long-term sleep deprivation can have severe and lasting impacts on your overall health and well-being. Chronic lack of sleep is linked to an increased risk of: (27)

• Type 2 diabetes: Sleep deprivation disrupts your body’s ability to regulate blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity. This can lead to higher blood sugar levels and insulin resistance, both of which are key factors in the development of diabetes. (28)
• Cardiovascular diseases: Not getting enough sleep promotes inflammation and stress on the heart, which can increase your risk of problems like high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke. (29)
• Mental health concerns: Lack of sleep is a known factor in “waking up on the wrong side of the bed” AKA fighting through excessive crankiness. But beyond that, sleep deprivation increases the risk of mood disorders like depression and anxiety. It also exacerbates stress levels and emotional instability, making it harder to cope with the inevitable daily challenges. (30)
• Dementia: Sleep deprivation makes it harder for your brain to get rid of toxins, including some that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Chronically not sleeping well also speeds up age-related memory problems. In fact, one study analyzed MRI data from 134 healthy volunteers (average age 25.3) across five datasets with different sleep conditions. Total sleep deprivation (over 24 hours awake) consistently increased brain age by 1-2 years, but one night of recovery sleep reversed this effect. (3)
• Obesity: Research shows that adults who get less than 5 hours of sleep a night are at a 50 percent higher risk of obesity. (31) One likely reason for this is that a lack of sleep can throw off the balance of hormones involved in appetite regulation, leading to food cravings, mindless eating, and overeating. (32)
• Reduced immune function: There’s an association between sleep and the immune system that requires getting enough rest. Sleep activates certain compounds involved in your immune response, and without it, your body can’t protect itself as well from harmful germs. (12)

Not surprisingly, being chronically sleep-deprived can even reduce your life expectancy and perceived quality of life. (33) We know this can all sound a bit scary but don’t panic — there are ways to get your sleep schedule back on track if you’ve found yourself slipping. 

How Is Sleep Deprivation Diagnosed?

It’s important to pay attention when you’re experiencing symptoms of sleep deprivation. 

If you head to your primary care provider’s office, they’ll likely ask you a series of questions and hone in on whether you’re experiencing daytime sleepiness, falling asleep within a few minutes of lying down, falling asleep during inopportune times, or experiencing “microsleeps” (a brief episode of sleep that lasts for a few seconds, often occurring without the person being aware of it). 

Additionally, Haghighian notes, “We can discover the problem by obtaining a comprehensive history outlining the patient’s typical sleep schedule and asking about the amount of sleep a patient gets. Additionally, we can take a look at the patient’s sleep patterns over a 2-week period using a sleep diary that [they] can fill out.”

From there, your provider may be able to dispense a diagnosis and treatment options on their own, or they may refer you to a sleep specialist. 

Sleep Tips for Preventing Sleep Deprivation

The recommended amount of sleep for most healthy adults is 7-8 hours per night, which most of us aren’t meeting regularly. (34)

According to Nunez, “In addition to routine and environment, setting yourself up for sleep success often starts hours before you go to bed.” If you’re falling short of your sleep goals, here are some things you can do:

• Practice good sleep hygiene: Sleep hygiene refers to the habits we have in place to help support our body’s natural circadian rhythm — AKA your body clock that tells you when you sleep and wake up. Keep a consistent sleep schedule and create a sleep-promoting environment with a comfy mattress, layered bedding, or blackout curtains.
• Catch some rays: Just as maintaining a consistent sleep and wake schedule reinforces your body’s internal clock, so does exposure to sunlight. Light plays a key role in regulating your circadian rhythm, and while it may seem strange, getting out into the sun can help you sleep better at night. (35)
• Exercise regularly: Research shows that exercise can also do the heavy lifting to improve your sleep. (36) It’s worth noting that if exercise becomes your weapon of choice against sleep deprivation, it’s best not to exercise too close to bedtime. Thirty minutes of moderate exercise in the morning or afternoon is ideal. 
• Mind your diet: Sleep and nutrition go hand in hand when it comes to repairing and replenishing your body’s needs. While eating an overall healthy diet right in plant foods is a great start, note that research shows high carbohydrate diets, and foods containing tryptophan, melatonin, and phytonutrients (like tart cherries), have been linked to improved sleep outcomes among people suffering from sleep deprivation. (37)
• Resist the urge to watch the clock: When you’ve got somewhere to be or something to do the next morning, clock-watching when you can’t sleep is completely understandable. And while it might be a difficult habit to break, consider this: studies show that clock-watching may worsen insomnia and exacerbate your misperception of sleep. (38)
• Avoid sleep disruptors before bed: Certain things can make it harder to fall asleep and get uninterrupted rest. For instance, eating a heavy high-fat meal, drinking alcohol or caffeine, or doing a vigorous workout right before bed can make it hard to settle down and get comfortable. Using technology before you close your eyes can also be problematic because the blue light emitted from screens prevents the natural production of melatonin, which is the hormone that tells your body it’s time for bed. (39)
• Manage your stress: We’ve all been victims of stress keeping us up at night. Beau says, “Stress has a big impact on sleep quality, so if you find yourself stressing a lot, try meditating or talking about it with a professional.” Consider other stress management practices like journaling, doing yoga, taking a nature walk, or listening to calming music. 

FAQs

The Last Word from Sleepopolis 

We’re all familiar with sleep deprivation and how it can affect our mood and energy levels, and make performing our normal tasks feel a million times harder. How much a lack of sleep affects us depends on whether we’re dealing with acute or chronic sleep deprivation. Regardless, not sleeping well isn’t on anyone’s bucket list, and leaving it unaddressed can lead to more problems. If you’re struggling with sleep, try the tips above to get your Zzz’s back on track. 

Lauren Panoff

Lauren Panoff, MPH, RD is a Colorado-based health and nutrition writer who has been published with a number of trusted wellness platforms. She is a dietitian who specializes in plant-based living, as well as a mother of two humans and a dog.