經常熬夜對身體造成多大影響？

Staying up late is defined as insufficient sleep or irregular sleep patterns. Do you often stay up late and suffer from sleep deprivation? Many night owls aren't unable to go to bed early, but rather, they feel it's a waste to end the day just because it's already bedtime, so they stay online or on their phones. Why can't they break free from this cycle of "revenge bedtime procrastination"? Are you one of these night owls?

What is revenge sleep deprivation?

Psychologist Alfred Adler once said that when people experience setbacks in physical or psychological matters, they try to compensate for these shortcomings in other ways to alleviate anxiety. During the day, with work, classes, and various tasks to handle, people often want to dedicate more time to relaxation before bed as a form of compensation.

This situation can be resolved in the following three ways:

1. During the day, allow yourself to relax occasionally, such as indulging your appetite. Don't suppress your appetite too much, so you won't have to sacrifice sleep to compensate at night.
2. Try to give yourself some time alone during the day.
3. Go to bed early; if you can't sleep, try reading a book.

The dangers of sleep deprivation

Insufficient sleep can impair brain function, leading to forgetfulness, neurasthenia, and increasing the risk of many diseases, as well as hindering the repair of damaged tissues. Furthermore, lack of sleep can cause mood instability, making one prone to irritability or depression. A sleep cycle lasts approximately 90 minutes, and between cycles, one may naturally wake up due to light sleep. Being woken by an alarm clock during non-light sleep may result in feeling dizzy and disoriented, so going to bed early and waking up naturally is the best sleep pattern.

Melatonin and Sleep

Ideally, you should maintain a regular sleep schedule and get enough sleep. If that's not possible right now, pay special attention to nutrition and get plenty of rest, protect your liver, and adjust your sleep schedule as soon as possible. When the surrounding light dims, the signal of darkness is transmitted from the optic nerve to the brain, causing the brain to secrete melatonin, making you want to fall asleep. If the sleep environment isn't dark enough, it will affect melatonin secretion. Another substance that affects sleep is adenosine. The longer a person is awake, the more adenosine accumulates in the brain, which is also why we feel sleepy. During sleep, the brain clears adenosine.

[Health Goals and Nutritional Needs]

Health Goals

People who habitually stay up late are prone to accumulating various toxins in their bodies, which can worsen their skin and accelerate aging. They also need to pay more attention to their daily diet.

Foods to avoid when staying up late:

Avoid drinking coffee and strong tea, as they will affect your sleep after staying up late.
Avoid eating sweets, as eating sweets at night increases the risk of developing this condition.
Avoid greasy foods to prevent putting extra strain on your digestive system.

People who stay up late need to consume:

Kelp: Kelp helps maintain healthy blood vessels, prevents constipation, and inhibits the body's absorption of heavy metals.
Mushrooms: contain selenium, which may help stabilize blood pressure and cholesterol.
Vinegar: It is beneficial for metabolism and reduces the formation of an acidic body constitution.
Mung beans: Detoxify.
Sweet potato: Detoxifies.
Lotus root: Cleanses the blood and detoxifies.

Required nutrients:

Vitamin C boosts immunity.
Vitamin B helps the nervous system, metabolism, and immunity, and relieves fatigue.
Vitamin A soothes dry eyes.
Vitamin E is an antioxidant.