One thing that we all have in common is sleep. At the end of the day there seems to be nothing better than getting comfortable in bed and finally shutting down. Sleep is comforting to many; for some it’s the best part of the day. I however, find more comfort in staying up till the early morning hours. I look forward to getting comfortable in bed to endlessly scroll through social media or watch whatever show it is that currently has me in its grasp; thank you Arrested Development. Although staying up is how I get comfortable, it’s not the best practice to get good at. When we don’t sleep, there is more that can affect us than just tiredness. Not sleeping (or not sleeping enough) can bring unwanted pain to anyone. Some people may not know what these pains are, so that’s where I come in. Below are a few different symptoms that come from not sleeping and how they can ultimately end with you being in pain.
Starting off with a common one, eye strain. Eye strain can be painful and seems to happen more often when we don’t get enough sleep; our eyes need a break from the strain of the day. This in most cases can also lead to headaches and or migraines. Nobody wants to go through their day feeling like a hammer is constantly hitting their skull.
Joint and muscle pain can creep up on anyone who doesn’t get enough sleep. Although laying down is relaxing, it’s when we haven’t truly had time to recharge from the day that causes this pain. Poor balance can also be painful; causing you to be unsteady on your feet and risk potentially falling.
Those are just a few symptoms that can lead to pain, but there’s more negatives to not sleeping than my four measly examples. Besides the pain, you could also experience things like anxiety, irritability, memory issues, and even hallucinations. Although by just reading these symptoms one wouldn’t jump to pain right away, it’s probably in our best interest to always be aware that pain can come from anywhere. If you have memory issues, you may become sad or angered that you can’t remember certain things, leading to a certain type of mental pain that differs from physical pain. If you start to hallucinate, that person across the room may not actually be there egging you on, but your hand will still hurt if you were to try and take a swing at them and hit the wall.
Despite all of this, my biggest takeaway, and hopefully yours too, is it’s more comfortable to actually get sleep than to stay up all through the night. There’s usually more pain with little to no gain from not sleeping, but don’t let this small curated list of negatives deter you from your dreams (or lack thereof). Although I have become more aware of the pains of not sleeping, it’s not going to stop me from doing what I do best, staying up. If you are like me and continue to choose not to sleep, keep in mind these painful symptoms that can occur because of it.
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