What Happens When We Don't Get Enough Sleep?

If we don’t get enough sleep, it has serious effects on our brain's ability to function. After just one night without sleep, concentration becomes more difficult and our attention span shortens considerably with increasing feelings of grumpiness, grogginess, irritability and forgetfulness.

With continued lack of sufficient sleep, the part of the brain that controls language, memory, planning and sense of time is severely affected, practically shutting down. In fact, 17 hours of sustained wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol level of 0.05% (two glasses of wine) which is the legal drink driving limit in the UK. 

Sleep is actually far more important to us than exercise or diet -  we would die of sleep deprivation before we die of hunger. And sleep deprivation is a significant contributory factor to heart disease, stress, memory loss, depression, obesity, attention deficit disorder and the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease.  On a daily basis driver fatigue contributes to 20% of fatal road traffic accidents.

So with all this data to illustrate just how important it is for people to get a really good night’s sleep, surely having the right bed should be of paramount importance to everyone when an incredible 62% of us claim to experience poor “broken sleep”?