When it comes to our health, diet and exercise need to go hand in hand. But there is another factor that you need to take into account to maintain your overall fitness and that is to ensure that you are getting enough sleep.

We all sleep at night, this is true, but not everyone really sees the value of this night time activity of ours. Sleep is where our body repairs and recovers itself after all the tasks that we’ve done during the day. If we are able to get quality sleep, our body produces more growth hormone which is important to our health, especially when you are still in your growing stages.

Unfortunately, many of us are not really meeting the recommended hours of sleep because of our personal activities. If you only sleeping four to five hours per day, you are actually accumulating sleep debt already. What happens when we find ourselves missing on our much-needed sleep? Here are a few possible effects.

Risk of injury

When we are suffering from sleep debt, we are putting ourselves at risk from injury. One reason behind this is that we may suffer from daytime sleepiness which can affect our coordination. This is dangerous especially when you are driving or commuting, as there is a high chance of you getting into an accident.

Poor performance

If you think that you will be able to get the most out of your gym workout when you haven’t slept well, you might find yourself not completing the set routine for the day. One reason behind this is that your muscles haven’t fully recuperated yet hence they are not really up to the task of carrying heavy loads. If you want t bust through all of your gym routine, make sure that you got adequate amounts of sleep.

Health risk

Sleep debt can also put you at risk from suffering from high blood pressure, erratic blood sugar levels, and even put your heart in danger of heart attack or stroke. You may also acquire chronic insomnia because of this which is another type of sleep disorder.

Hormonal imbalance

Hormonal imbalance is likely to happen as well, especially when your body is not functioning 100%. When your hormones are out of whack, there is a huge chance that other health problems may appear such as weight gain, bloating, mood swings, and the like.

Sleep debt is something that cannot be reversed easily. If you want to catch some zees, you can start with getting short naps within the day, or you can start a sleep schedule and stick to it every day, including weekends.