5 ways sleep deprivation leads to poorer quality of life

Having insufficient sleep can lead to impatience, resentment and even result in making poor decisions for your loved ones. Interacting with your loved ones in this manner will be harmful to your relationships in the long-run.

Without enough sleep, you will also experience reduced energy levels, which means you may not have the stamina to keep up with your little ones or be able to spend quality time with them growing up.

Not getting enough sleep can impact your health in the long-term, which will negatively impact your family’s quality of life.

You may also be putting them at risk by driving while sleepy, as well as making poor decisions while raising your children or interacting with your spouse.

Just like your body needs air, food and water to survive, it needs sleep to function. The only difference is that the effects of sleep deprivation will be apparent over time, rather than immediately.

Some common health-related complications that may arise from a lack of sleep includes decreased immunity levels and an increased risk of developing diabetes, blood pressure, heart diseases and stroke.

As you build up sleep debt, you potentially lower life expectancy, as well as increase the chances of a poorer quality of life, measured by your health adjusted life expectancy (HALE), which is an internationally accepted indicator for the number of years you can expect to live in full health.

Currently, Singapore’s life expectancy is close to 83.2 years, while its HALE is nearly 73.6 years, which means that Singaporeans live an average of 10 years in ill-health. Consistently clocking in less than the recommended hours of sleep can reduce your HALE, and increase the number of years you spend in ill-health.

Chronically lacking sleep has side-effects that can adversely impact your mental wellbeing.

Firstly, you will not be able to focus, you will feel fatigued, and you will be moody and short-tempered.

This may lead to depression, anxiety disorders or even behavioural issues such as violence and alcohol and substance abuse.

How you look is often a function of how healthy you are. Moreover, not looking your best can also drain your confidence levels.

Insufficient sleep is commonly associated with developing eye bags, dull skin, acne outbreaks or bloodshot eyes.

Not sleeping enough can also lead to hormonal imbalances which can impair metabolism rate and cause weight gain.

At AIA, we believe in helping our customers lead healthier, longer and better lives. In addition to our dedicated sleep content hub, we are determined to partner our customers in making small, but significant, steps towards an improved sleeping routine.

That is why we have started the #OneMoreHour movement. We want to drive home the point that by making small changes to improve your sleeping habits, you will see results that will compound over time and encourage you to do more.

We will also incorporate AIA Vitality to continue playing a key role in rewarding our customers for improving their lifestyles, with an expanded sleeping component.

Join us for #OneMoreHour of quality sleep today!