It has always been said that sleep is very important for body. In many research papers, insufficient amount of sleep has even been linked to many health problems. Have you ever thought what will be the effect if one does not get to sleep for many hours? Dan Childs, head of the ABC News Medical Unit, has tried knowing it by staying awake for 40 hours.

It has been found that by not taking proper sleep, a number of negative things happen like weakening of immune system, negative effect on cardiovascular system, cognitive function and memory. In fact, it did not take much time to show negative impact.

As per a 2010, by not sleeping for one night, a person’s cognitive ability gets impaired to such a level that it is comparable to having a blood-alcohol level of 0.10%. By not having proper sleep, many road accidents take place.

The National Department of Transportation said that drowsy driving is responsible for 1,550 fatalities and 40,000 nonfatal injuries, which take place on annual basis in America. Sleep expert Namni Goel from the University of Pennsylvania said that sleep deprived body will not only feel fatigue, but also the person’s hormones will change in a way that they will crave for unhealthy food items.

“Short-term memory is definitely affected and something you may have learned or studied right before bed might not be remembered in the morning”, affirmed sleep expert Dr. Ilene Rosen.