HealthyPIG Magazine

f you have tossed and turned overnight, you will know how you felt the next day—tiredness, irritability, and confusion. But missing the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep per night will not only make you feel groggy and grumpy. The long-term effects of sleep deprivation are real. It exhausts your mental capacity and puts your physical health at real risks. Science has linked lack of sleep with many health problems, from weight gain to weakened immune system.

Every night you ride a roller coaster and experience different stages of sleep. Although you don't know what's going on while you're napping, your brain and body are active. Each stage of sleep has a different impact on how you feel the next day. Read on to learn which phase helps your brain, which phase restores your body, and whether you're getting a good balance between each phase each night.

Sleep apnea is a condition in which breathing pauses repeatedly while you sleep. When this happens, your body wakes you up to resume breathing. These multiple sleep interruptions can prevent you from getting a good night's sleep and leave you feeling extra tired during the day. Sleep apnea doesn't just make you drowsy, though. If left untreated, it can lead to heart disease, diabetes, and other long-term health risks.

Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and sudden sleep attacks. Regardless of the condition, people with narcolepsy often have difficulty staying awake for long periods of time. Narcolepsy can seriously disrupt your daily life. Sometimes, narcolepsy can be accompanied by a sudden loss of muscle tone (cataplexy), which can be triggered by strong emotions. Narcolepsy associated with cataplexy is called narcolepsy type 1. Narcolepsy without cataplexy is called narcolepsy type 2. Narcolepsy is a chronic disease that has no cure. However, medications and lifestyle changes can help you manage your symptoms. Support from other people—family, friends, employers, teachers—can help you cope with narcolepsy