Sleeping late is a habit for many people. The popular saying “early to bed, early to rise” does not apply to them, although they may sleep late and still wake up early. This shows that such people rarely get a healthy amount of sleep. Some stay up till 2 or 3 AM and wake up before 7 to begin their day.
Most people with such habit learnt it from school where they had to read long hours into the night for an examination. Years after leaving the system, such people still find that they still sleep late and wake early and they often think it is a good trait or a sort of life skill. But staying up late into the night is very bad.
After a long hard day, the least you can do is to get your body to recharge so you can get ready for the next day. Sleeping allows your body to relax and also puts your mental state at ease, so you can wake up rejuvenated. But this does not happen when you get just 2 – 3 hours of sleep. As an adult, you should aim for, at least, six hours of sleep a day. While that may seem unrealistic, due to work and other engagements that you may have, it is still something you should still strive for nonetheless as sleeping late has zero benefits with a lot of adverse effects on your body. We would be looking at some of the health effects of late-night sleeping below.
1. Sleeping Late Makes You Put On Weight
Have you been wondering why you are gaining weight even though you do eat much? The reason could be that you do not get enough sleep. Sleep is very important for your metabolism and getting very little sleep could disrupt the process, slowing down the way your body digests food. This could cause you to gain weight even if you cut back on your diet. Studies have shown that those who got less than 5 hours of sleep put on more weight than those who slept between 7 – 8 hours.
2. Sleeping Late Makes You Forgetful
Where did you keep your car keys? Where is the TV remote again? You are forgetting things because you do not give your brain enough time to relax by sleeping well. When you get enough sleep, you give your brain time to process all the information of the day to create space for new ones. This takes hours of healthy sleep to achieve. But when sleep for 3 – 4 hours, you do not allow your brain to rest, so you begin a new day with unrest. This causes you to mix things up and forget things rather easily.
If you love your mental health, you should start taking your sleep seriously.
3. Sleeping Late Puts Your Heart At Risk
When you sleep late regularly, you are increasing your risk of having a heart attack, stroke, or any other heart disease. This could put your life at risk.
4. Sleeping Late Reduces Your Libido
If you are having problems having sex, this could be a result of your regular late sleeping. Sleeping late would decrease your testosterone levels a great deal. The good thing is that it is reversible and all you need to do is to start getting healthy amounts of sleep. One study showed that men who don’t get enough sleep had lower testosterone levels.
5. Sleeping Late Makes You Slow
Going to work or school with just 3 – 4 hours of sleep would make you very tired in the morning. This would cause you to lose concentration and force you to use extra energy in keeping yourself awake. This could also prove risky when you are driving or operating machinery.
6. Sleeping Late Gives You Poor Skin
Late-night sleep will raise your cortisol levels. High cortisol levels will trigger inflammation, which breaks down the proteins that keep your skin smooth and fresh. These inflammations can also make your skin more prone to acne and more sensitive to allergic reactions. Inadequate sleep can also affect the moisture levels in your skin, making it drier.
7. Late-night Sleeping Increases Cancer Risk
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) have stated that may increase the risk of developing cancer. Another report by the AASM also said that poor sleep duration and quality may affect cancer survival rate.
Bottom Line
Sleeping late is a bad habit that you should try to get rid of. The negative health effects of late-night sleeping outweigh any benefit you get from it as it puts your whole health in danger. You can also sleep in the afternoon if you ever have poor sleep at night.
Collins Nwokolo is a human physiologist, writer and health enthusiast. He loves writing helpful articles on health and fitness, which he enjoys sharing with everyone.
