whether you’re staying up all night to cram for a test or just can’t tear yourself away from the slow drip of election results, staying up all night can have an immediate impact on you.
here’s what skipping sleep means for your body and brain:
you’re basically drunk
feeling less awake can seriously impair your coordination and judgment in the same way that drinking alcohol does. according to the centers for disease control,
going without sleep
is just like drinking too much alcohol: staying up for 18 hours is the equivalent to a blood content level of 0.05 per cent, while no sleep for 24 hours is equal to having a blood alcohol content of 0.10 per cent. across the u.s. and canada, the legal limit is 0.08 per cent.
in the u.s., it’s estimated that 5,000 people died in 2015 crashes linked to drowsy driving according to a
governors highway safety association report
. the canadian automobile association
has said
that about 20 per cent of accidents in the country are because of drowsy driving.
you’ve got the munchies
according to the national sleep foundation, a u.s.-based non-profit, a lack of sleep can lead to overeating; when you don’t get enough sleep, levels of the hormone ghrelin — which regulates hunger — spikes and makes us hungry. it also raises the level of the lipid endocannabinoid.
“this acts on the brain in a similar way to marijuana, making the act of eating more enjoyable, especially in the evening. but it increases hunger for specific types of foods, such as cookies, candy, and chips,” the foundation
explains.