“There are some people who are more resistant to the effects of sleep deprivation than others,” says Stuart Quan, MD, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School’s division of sleep medicine. “Functionally, they’re OK, but metabolically, they may not be doing OK. The solution [to sleep deprivation] is not going out and drinking a couple of cans of Red Bull. The solution is to get more sleep.”
Skipping sleep has been linked to less-threatening problems -- like a headache -- and even life-threatening ones and earlier death.
Though the research doesn't prove that sleep alone was to blame for any of those things, there's no downside to getting a good night's sleep. Not convinced? Here are seven conditions that may be tied to a sleep shortfall.
12 Causes of Fatigue and How to Fight It