●     Premature aging

●     Risk of death

Sleep deprivation also compromises the immune system, which leaves us at risk for bacterial and viral infections, combined with a slower recovery time. With all of the risks to which we expose ourselves by denying the body a chance to recharge and heal itself, we need to pay close attention to our body’s cries for help. Here are five signs that our body is telling us we need a nap:

You’re Ravenously Hungry or Can’t Stomach Your Lunch

Lack of sleep can completely disrupt your internal clock and leave you constantly feeling  hungry or persistently full, even when you haven’t eaten all day. This is why so many people either gain or lose weight during prolonged periods of sleep deprivation. And it’s not just how much we eat that’s affected. According to the New York Times, research showed that depriving people of one night of sleep created pronounced changes in the brain’s response to high-calorie junk foods. On days when the test subjects got poor sleep, fattening foods like sweets and other junk foods stimulated stronger responses in a part of the brain that controls the body’s motivation to eat.

You’ve Checked Facebook, Scanned Your Email and Watched a Cat Video While Reading This Article.

If you’re sleep deprived, whether it’s because of a late night on the town or a new baby, focusing on simple tasks can feel like solving a complex math equation. Lack of sleep affects the ability to focus on just about anything other than how to sneak a nap in our office without getting caught snoozing on the job. Lack of sleep affects our productivity both at work and home. While it’s tempting to decide to pull an all-nighter to finish a work presentation or make final preparations for a family get-together or spring cleaning project (and while sometimes, this is an inevitability in our hectic lives), it’s important to remember what the results will be the following morning. A completed work presentation is worthless without the mental capacity to deliver it and answer questions. The most perfectly planned party means little if we aren’t alert enough to enjoy it and the guests for whom we prepared it.