Insomnia has been my constant companion for a very long time. I am used to the mood swings, the tiredness, and the daze that follows a night of tossing and turning. There are a lot of mental effects of sleeplessness. However, insomnia can make its presence felt in a lot of physical ways as well.
Waking up with tired muscles, and deep dark semi-moons etched under my eyes has become a common phenomenon. I often do not recognise myself without the sallow complexion and tired look in my eyes.
Image Credit: iStock
What Insomnia does to the body
While insomnia is often categorised as a mental health issue, it does take a toll on my physical health as well. Of course a lot of the problems that arise are to do with tiredness which affects the brain. After a bout of insomnia, often I am more irritable and prone to major mood swings.
In addition to the memory troubles and confusion, there are many physical changes I see in myself after I go through a spell of sleepless nights. Not only are my bones tired, I also end up with more pimples popping up and my skin looking unhealthy and aged.
Image Credit: iStock
The stress of not being able to fall asleep manifests itself in physical ways. Despite the dark being advertised as the playground for sexy things, sleepless nights also murder the sex drive. How can you feel sexy when you’re feeling icky, tired, and annoyed?
Another terrible by-product of sleepless nights is rapid weight gain.
Insomnia and food cravings
While insomnia in itself is bad enough, sleepless nights often give way to rooting around the fridge for late night snacks. After the sun has set and the whole house is asleep, it is often easier to give into your cravings. There is no one to stop you, after all.
Late nights are disastrous for me not only because I know that the next day is going to be terrible, but also because I end up finishing my stash of Maggi noodles or try to induce sleep by cooking ostentatious dishes.
Image Credit: iStock
While the cooking in itself is fun and does eat up a lot of time which would otherwise be spent rolling around in bed, it leads to overeating. While insomnia might not be the direct reason, it often is the pipeline to making me feel bloated and guilty about munching through the night.
There are a lot of articles online that talk about not eating late in the night because your metabolism slows down after sunset. Insomnia and boredom-induced hunger pangs often lead me down the path of night-binges that always end with the saga of the early-morning “Ugh, why’d I do that.”
The blurred lines between dreams and reality
On the days when I manage to fall asleep, I am usually plagued with realistic dreams that never end. When I wake up, these seem like amazing, fun, travails in the night and I often cherish the cool dreams I have.
When asked about them, I often answer with a nonchalant, “My dreams are like little movies in my head.” However, the reality is that however cool the dreams may be, sometimes I cannot make out the difference between what was real and what was not.
Image Credit: iStock
Sleeplessness has affected the way I interact with reality and how I perceive things around me. Dreams play a huge part in that interaction. Waking up from these dreams, I have to take a moment to refamiliarise myself with the world around me. The dreams are realistic, the world is realistic, and my being is often caught between untangling the complicated connections between what is realistic and what is real.
The thing not many people talk about when it comes to insomnia is that often insomniacs can fall asleep and yet do not manage to get any rest. The minute differences between REM sleep and Deep sleep can make all the difference between a refreshing nap and a tiring night.
Do mobile phones cause insomnia?
All 90s kids remember the refrain of ‘Yeh phone ne dimag kharab kar rakha hai,’ that was a staple with all parents. To a certain degree they were correct. A lot of us are glued to our phones late at night, and so miss the opportunity to fall asleep on time.
Modern tech is adept at messing up our sleep schedules. We end up scrolling through the night, unable to stop cherishing the little bubble of time we have to ourselves after-dark. It leads us down the rabbit hole of looking up from our phones to see dawn breaking through the window.
Image Credit: iStock
I have mastered the feeling of despair that comes with that first moment when you hear birds chirping and realise that you’ve wasted another night online. Social media is addictive, of course, but there is more to this than just social media.
These late night moments are, at least for me, a sanctuary away from the stress of communicating with people, interacting with society, and playing the socially-approved roles that have been thrust upon all of us for our waking hours.
Sleep is an essential part of human functioning, and unfortunately, a huge chunk of society is not privy to consistently healthy sleeping patterns. It is important that we find out what is causing us sleepless nights.
It might be hereditary, stress-induced, or just a by-product of living in a world full of LED lights and neon signs. After becoming friends with the dark circles under my eyes, I can only say that sleeplessness is overrated. If you get the chance, fall asleep immediately.
Goodnight.
Social and lead image credit: Instagram/athiyashetty and iStock
