4 Sneaky Signs You're Sleep-Deprived (Beyond Being Tired)

Many people wear lack of sleep like a badge of honor, taking pride in pulling an all-nighter or surviving on five hours a night.

But skipping sleep shouldn't be valued as a sign of strength or productivity. Quality sleep is crucial for overall health and well-being. Not getting enough sleep can have harmful effects.

Sleep deprivation — or not getting enough sleep each night — is incredibly common. More than one third of American adults report sleeping fewer than seven hours a day, according to the American Thoracic Society. (The average recommended sleep per night is seven to nine hours for most adults.)

And while certain symptoms of sleep deprivation — like feeling tired during the day — are obvious, others are harder to notice.

Here, Emerson Wickwire, PhD, professor and section head of sleep medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, shares the sneaky signs of sleep deprivation to look out for, plus what you can do to get better shut-eye.

Sudden bouts of sleepiness and daytime drowsiness are telltale signs of sleep deprivation. But there are also more subtle effects of sleep deprivation that you should learn to spot, too.

"Decades of clinical, experimental and epidemiologic evidence demonstrates that sleep is essential for cognitive function," Wickwire says.

That means, sleep deprivation has several negative effects on the brain. For instance, "not getting enough sleep, or quality sleep, worsens brain function, including our ability to remember, concentrate and make good decisions," Wickwire says.

"More recent data even suggests that chronic sleep deprivation increases the risk for cognitive decline as we age, including Alzheimer's disease," he adds.

Indeed, an April 2021 study in ‌Nature Communications‌ found that middle-aged people (those in their 50s and 60s) who slept six hours or less per night had a 30 percent higher risk of developing dementia later in life compared to those who slept a normal seven hours each night.

If you're putting on pounds without explanation, lack of sleep may be to blame.

When you don't get quality shut-eye, your hormones are impacted, Wickwire says. Sleep deprivation messes with the hormones that regulate appetite and glucose breakdown, which can affect weight gain, according to the American Thoracic Society.

And it only takes a tiny disruption in your daily sleep routine to feel the effects. "With as little as one night of partial sleep deprivation, we feel more hungry, less full and [have] more cravings for calorie-dense foods that are high in sugars and fats," Wickwire says.

Being sleep deprived could also make you less likely to be physically active during the day, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. This could lead to weight gain over the long term.

What's more, sleep deprivation can also alter how your body stores fat from food, according to a September 2019 study in the ‌Journal of Lipid Research‌. Researchers discovered that people who experienced just four nights of inadequate sleep retained less fat in their bloodstreams after a meal.

In other words, when you are sleep-deprived, your body stores more fat. And this could have consequences for the number on the scale.

You've likely heard the saying, "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." This expression — used to describe when a person's grumpy or in a sour mood — holds some truth.

That's because "sleep is essential to health, including mental health," Wickwire says. Indeed, sleep plays a pivotal role in certain brain functions that regulate emotions and behaviors, according to Columbia University Department of Psychiatry.

So when we lack it, we're more likely to experience mood swings or feel depressed, anxious or irritable. In fact, research has shown that unsatisfactory shut-eye can ramp up negative emotional responses, reduce our ability to cope with stressors (even minor ones) and diminish positive emotions, per Columbia University Department of Psychiatry.

"And, when we feel down or stressed, we tend to sleep even worse, so the problem perpetuates and can create a vicious cycle," Wickwire says.

Sleep deprivation might also make you sick. That's because during sleep, your body recharges and repairs itself, according to the American Thoracic Society.

Lack of sleep affects your immune system. During sleep, your body produces an increased number of cytokines (proteins) that create an inflammatory response, which can help you recover when sick, fighting infection or injured, per the Mayo Clinic.

A September 2015 study in ​‌Sleep‌​ also found that folks who sleep fewer than six hours per night are more susceptible to getting sick with the common cold. In the same way, sleep deprivation can also affect your body's ability to build ample antibody response to vaccinations.

"Given the importance of COVID-19 and other vaccines, many people are surprised to know that not getting a good night's sleep can make vaccines less effective," Wickwire says. There's science to back that up: A June 2022 systematic review in the ‌Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine‌ concluded that a good night's sleep could support the immune response after vaccination.

If you're experiencing daytime drowsiness along with any of the above symptoms, consult with your doctor who may refer you to a sleep specialist. To assist in the diagnosis, write a sleep diary for a few weeks to help you keep track of your sleep patterns.

Monitoring your sleep habits may help a sleep specialist better evaluate and assess your situation. In some cases, they may even suggest a sleep study — which examines your breathing, heart rate and other vital signs while you sleep — to rule out (or diagnose) an underlying disorder like sleep apnea, according to Cedars Sinai.

Though obvious, the only way to remedy sleep deprivation is to log more restful hours in bed.

Still, treatment for sleep deprivation depends on what's disrupting your ability to drift off and stay asleep. Once sleep disorders have been ruled out, poor sleep hygiene (i.e., subpar sleep habits like going to bed late) is often the source of people's sleep troubles.

"In today's busy world, it can be difficult to prioritize sleep in the midst of our busy lives, but the simple fact is that your brain and body will thank you for it," Wickwire says.

Here are some healthy habits to start forming for better sleep, per the Cleveland Clinic:

• ‌Stick to a sleep schedule‌: Go to sleep and wake up around the same time every day, even on weekends and vacations.
• ‌Create a good sleep environment‌: Turn down the lights, avoid loud sounds and keep the room at a comfortable temperature.
• ‌Exercise every day‌: Stay active but try to avoid exercising during the few hours right before bed.
• ‌Relax before bed‌: Take a warm bath, read or do another relaxing activity like meditation.
• ‌Don't consume caffeine, nicotine and alcohol late in the day‌: These substances can interfere with your ability to fall and stay asleep.
• ‌Nix daytime napping‌: A short nap (less than 30 minutes) is OK if you're very sleepy. But try to avoid naps after 3 p.m.
• ‌Avoid electronics right before bed‌: Electronics, such as your phone or tablet, can interfere with your body's production of melatonin, a hormone that helps you feel tired.