The feeling of sacrificing sleep is usual in the modern culture of hustle. But what happens to your brain after 14 days of getting little sleep? The scientists have a name for the undiagnosed injury of continuous sleep deprivation, the Somniaphage Effect. Although it is not a medical diagnosis, the term is used to describe how sleep loss over time slowly chews away at the cognitive ability of your brain, its balance in emotionality and eventually your long term health.
Two weeks of Insomnia.What does that really do to your brain?
This is what happens to your brain if you don’t sleep properly
Day 1 to 3: Cognitive fog begins
Your brain starts to fight after one or two days of sleep that is less than six hours. You may notice:
- Difficulty concentrating
- Slower reaction times
- Irritability
- Cravings for sweet food are high.
The prefrontal cortex, the decision making and focus part of the brain, becomes less efficient. Although you might feel that things are fine, when scanning the brain, it has been found out that alertness is lower and control of attention is weaker.
Day 4 to 7: Increase in emotional instability
At the close of the first week, emotional regulation is struck. The amygdala which is in charge of emotional processing such as fear and stress gets hyper active. Meanwhile, it becomes less connected with the rational aspect of your brain.
This imbalance can lead to:
- Mood swings
- Heightened anxiety
- Hypersensitivity to stress.
- Reduced patience
The symptoms are confused with burnout or general stress by many who may fail to know that sleep is the main cause.
Day 8 to 10: Worsening memory and learning
Sleep is important in memory consolidation. Your brain structures and stores all the information you collected during the day during the deep sleep.
More than a week later, having had little sleep:
- Short-term memory weakens
- Acquisition of new information is more difficult.
- Creativity declines
- Skills in problem solving decline.
Studies demonstrate that chronic sleep deprivation is able to replicate the cognitive deficiency of an individual who has either slept 24 to 48 hours continuously.
Day 11 to 14: The Somniaphage Effect Increases
After two weeks of limited sleep, approximately 4 to 6 hours per night, the brain is said to be in a state of cumulative deficit by the experts.
Here’s what happens:
Slower neural communication
The brain cells find it difficult to communicate effectively, thus causing the person to experience mental fatigue and reduced thinking speed.
Increased inflammation
The long-term neurological risks are associated with the long-term elevation of inflammatory markers in the brain caused by chronic sleep insufficiency.
Reduced Neuroplasticity
The process of adapting, learning and creating new connections with the brain becomes weaker.
High risk of anxiety and depression
Due to sleep deprivation, the balance of serotonin and dopamine is disturbed, and it becomes more susceptible to mood disorders.
Can the Brain Recover?
The positive side of it is that the brain is resilient. Most of the short term effects can be reversed by recovery sleep, regular 7 to 9 hours of sleep a day. Chronic sleep deprivation can only be completely repaired after a period of weeks and even months.
Experts recommend:
- Having a regular sleep pattern.
- The use of screens 1 hour before bed should be avoided.
- Avoiding consumption of caffeine after 2 PM.
- Having quality sleep of 79 hours a priority.
Overall, a few weeks of sleep deprivation does not only exhausts you, but it alters the way your brain works. The Somniaphage Effect brings out the focus on the negative impact of chronic sleep deprivation on the brain without any complaint and deteriorates memory levels, emotional stability, and long-term brain functionality. And in case you have been reducing the quantity of sleep, then this is your wake-up call. Sleeping is not being lazy, it is taking care of your brain.
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