STAYING UP LATE CAN BE HARMFUL TO YOUR HEALTH

7 Ways Staying Up Late Could Be Harmful To Your Health

We often stay up late to finish our tasks, especially when it comes to school works and group projects. Some of us also pulled an all-nighter to study for exams to achieve the desired results. But, staying up late is bad for our health, here are a few reasons why (according to Bustles) :

1It Could Be Linked To High Blood Sugar

A 2015 study found health problems like high blood sugar linked to people with an evening-driven schedule. While the study was working with a relatively small sample size, its results showed that female participants who stayed up late were also more likely to have high blood sugar. Hyperglycemia, significantly high blood sugar, is often associated with other health conditions, from temporary problems like fatigue and headaches to more serious conditions like cardiovascular disease and kidney damage.

2It Can Lead To Poor Eating Habits

Late-night binges are all-too familiar to anyone who’s pulled an all-nighter studying or going down a rabbit hole of YouTube makeup videos. (I’m not alone in that, right?) However, one study found that staying up late make you eat more and, oftentimes, worse. As the results of that study suggest, we start craving denser food with less beneficial kinds of fat when we stay up past our bedtime, which can ultimately lead to poor health. 

3It Could Be Linked To Heart Disease

What if you maintain a fairly regular sleep schedule throughout the week and just do the stay up late/sleep in late thing on the weekend? One study suggests you might still be doing damage to your health. Researchers called this sleep pattern “social jet lag” and linked its affects heart disease. In fact, researchers found that for every hour your sleep schedule shifts, you increase your risk of heart disease by 11 percent.

4It Could Be Making You Sick 

Sleep is healing, as anyone who’s been able to sleep off a cold will tell you. As stated by Mayo Clinic, sleep impacts your immune system. If you’re starting to get sick and aren’t getting a good night’s sleep, you may actually be making yourself sicker by not giving your body enough time to fight off illness or infection.

5It Might Be Linked To Depression

In a recent study, presented earlier this year, researchers found that people who consider themselves night owls were also more likely to report experiences symptoms of depression. This was especially true among participants who stayed up late and also had type-2 diabetes. While not necessarily a cause-effect relationship, it’s worth noting that the two seem to be intertwined to some degree.

6If You’re Staying Up To Study, You’re Probably Not Retaining Information 

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, kids, but staying up late to study is likely counterproductive to improving your test scores. A 2016 report from Texas A&M suggests that staying up late to study, which often entails sleep deprivation, doesn’t help with long-term memory and negatively impacts your brain’s performance.

7It Affects The Amount Of Sleep You End Up Getting At Night

Unless you’re living that good life of being able to get eight hours of sleep regardless of when your head hits the pillow, you’re likely getting less sleep when you stay up super late. When you don’t sleep well or don’t sleep enough, it takes a toll on your body. Lack of sleep can slow down reaction time (not great for that morning commute to work) and also be linked to how stressed you feel. So, while you certainly don’t need to be fast asleep by 9 p.m. sharp, it’s probably best to make sure you’re giving yourself enough time to actually get full night of sleep.

JOSEPHINE ANDREA