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Page 22 | Abby's Magazine | instagram.com/abbyshealthfood 5. Risk of Cancer Increases Studies have linked lack of sleep to both colorectal and deadly breast cancers. People who don't get enough sleep tend to have lower melatonin levels, and this can lead to low-grade inflammation, a main trigger for almost all cancer types. 6. Risk of Obesity Increases Melatonin also regulates the hormones that make you feel hungry (ghrelin) or full (leptin). When we sleep less, ghrelin levels increase, while leptin levels decrease, setting up a perfect scenario for weight gain and potential obesity. Not to mention, sleep deprived individuals are less likely to exercise, because they are too tired, and since these people are awake longer, they have more opportunities to eat. 7. Increased Risk of Diabetes According to Mark Mahowald, MD, "there is some evidence that sleep deprivation could lead to a pre-diabetic state." Sleep loss disrupts glucose metabolism, leading to decreases in insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance, which can eventually result in diabetes if consistently elevated. One study found that sleep deprived mice had elevated blood glucose in the liver. This was after only sleeping 6 hours each night. The researchers also measured triglyceride levels in the liver, as increased levels are associated with an increase in insulin resistance. As expected, in the sleep-deprived mice, levels were elevated. 8. Hypertension Sleeping only 5-6 hours a night significantly increases blood pressure. Sleep regulates stress hormones, which in turn regulate and ensure a healthy blood pressure. If you have chronic sleep loss, your risk of hypertension increases significantly. 9. Higher Risk of Injury Lack of sleep puts a toll on our perception and judgment. In fact, a study published in the journal, SLEEP, evaluated 1,741 men and women over the duration of 10-14 years. They found that men who slept less than six hours a night had a significant increase in mortality risk, even after diabetes, hypertension and other factors were controlled for. 10. Immune System Suppression Sleep deprivation suppresses the immune system, decreasing your body's ability to respond to viral or bacterial infections. Many studies have shown that our T-cell production goes down if we are sleep deprived, and these cells normally aid in a healthy functioning immune system.