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We wake up in the middle of the night to feed or soothe a crying infant. Us Mommas of Type 1 Sweeties wake up to test blood sugar. Potty training Mommas might wake up to remind kiddos to go to the bathroom so there won’t be bleary-eyed changing of the sheets. Working Mommas may be up in the middle of the night with anxiety about a big presentation or their job performance. ANY Momma can suffer from insomnia due to anxiety or the complete destruction of any healthy sleep habits we once had that motherhood often renders. For whatever reason, I believe that most Mommas are lacking the proper amount of sleep. I know that I am and have been for a long time. Today I’m going to look at some of the effects of long-term sleep deprivation and, let me tell you, it’s not pretty. It’s definitely something we all should be taking a look at. You are probably not at the point where the following symptoms are present but it’s something to keep in mind while making decisions for your your evening.

Let’s start with the cognitive and emotional symptoms, shall we? Most of these symptoms appear after only one night of sleep deprivation and worsen to a point with continued lack of sleep.

• Impaired problem-solving ability–getting stuck in rigid thought patterns
• Decreased ability to concentrate
• Impaired memory
• Depression
• Increased irritability
• Slower reaction times

Sound like fun? Some of these things sound a lot like “normal” Mommy Brain, don’t they? But let’s continue to see a bit more why the area of sleep needs more attention.

Next let’s look at endocrine and immune function. In a study these symptoms appeared after only one week of sleep deprivation and returned to normal once the subject’s normal sleep patterns were restored.

• Decreased immune function/ability to fight off illness
• Decrease in leptin (hormone that tells you are satisfied when eating)
• Increase in ghrelin (hormone that stimulates your appetite)
• Impaired glucose tolerance that looks just like the beginning stages of diabetes
• Decrease in production of thyroid stimulating hormone
• Increase in production of cortisol (hormone released when under stress)

Why are the above effects of lack of sleep important? You get sick more often, eat more, gain weight, increase your likelihood of getting diabetes, and may develop a hypothyroid condition. I have one, it’s not fun. You do NOT want it. Weight gain, headaches, sensitivity to cold, extreme fatigue, irritability, severe “brain fog” and difficulty concentrating, hair loss and a lifetime supply of thyroid medication which you get to take on a daily basis which will, hopefully but not definitely alleviate the aforementioned pain-in-the-butt symptoms. Then there’s the advanced aging aspect. The effects of increased cortisol and dealing with the no-sleep fog that you are in put stress on the body. It is working harder yet functioning at a lower level. This increased stress on the body can cause you to look and feel older as well as increasing your risk for diseases that you would normally not be at risk for until you are older. And aside from the actual medical dangers, it can cause a major loss of Mommy Mojo which is not good for the mental health either.

Moving on, we get to increased risk for longer term diseases:

• We already mentioned the diabetes-like condition your body can be in
• Then there’s the hypothyroid condition we already mentioned as well
• Increased risk for heart attack and heart disease
• Increased risk for obesity which is a factor in many diseases
• Hypertension

When I started researching this topic, I knew that I didn’t feel good and I knew that it had a lot to do with lack of sleep. But I had no idea that long-term lack of sleep could cause and/or mimic such devastating diseases as diabetes or hypothyroidism. There will probably always be those periods of time when a busy life intrudes on a good night’s sleep. Or there is something that is bothering you that prevents you from sleeping well for a short time. In my humble, not-in-any-way-medical opinion is that the time to be concerned is when your body is consistently not getting what it needs in terms of sleep. The trick is getting the sleep patterns back on track. As Mommas, I think our bodies can get “trained” not to sleep well due to the many middle of the night demands placed on it from our child’s infancy. After the need for us to wake in the middle of the night is over, it can be difficult to get back on track.

There are many choices we can and do make every day that effect whether or not we get a good night’s sleep. I’m at least going to tackle those this month to try and give myself a fighting chance. Join me next week for more on how to get a good night’s sleep!