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Engage Better: Lack of Sleep Might Cause You to Lose Your Friends
A new study from researchers at the University of California found another possible consequence of not getting enough sleep. The study, published in 2018, found that insomniac people felt more secluded and less social around a crowd of people. Yup! You heard it right. Sleep deprivation can potentially disrupt your immune system and now, affect your social life.
Although human beings did not evolve to be alone, sleep plays an important role in your physical and social health. Ongoing sleep deficiency increases the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, and stroke.
But how does sleep really affect our social life? A neurologist concentrating in sleep medicine at the Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute in California, Dr. Jay Puangco, explained that sleep deprivation can affect temper, attention, and cognition. Simply put, the less sleep you get, the less you want to interact with your surroundings.
This can be the devastating desire to sleep, for somebody who needs sleep, takes precedence over chit-chatting or even heading to the café after work with friends; they may not have the energy required for social interaction.
What makes this study more interesting is that even people who have adequate hours of sleep avoid people who are sleep-deprived. Well-rested people feel lonely even after just a quick interaction with a sleep-deprived person, triggering a viral contagion of social isolation. So, this shows that loneliness is contagious, just as happiness is – when you be friends with happy people, you are more likely to become happy.
We know! It really sounds ridiculous losing your friends because of lack of sleep but that is actually possible. After reading this, you might want to fix your sleeping habit. Here are some easy steps to get the best quality of sleep every night:
Exercise regularly during the days
Avoid mind-stimulating activities like playing chess in the few hours before bed
Do some stretching and yoga
Avoid drinking coffee or alcohol three hours before sleep
