Sleep Deprivation Delays Wound Healing

Without proper sleep, the body can not recovery and rejuvenate for the next day. Sleep deprivation is a stress induced complication but can also lead to additional stress upon the body. For individuals who suffer from injury, sleep deprivation can have an adverse affect on the healing and recovery process.

Wound healing is a complex physiological process that engages protein changes, cell division and replication, and promotes the release of growth hormones. With sleep, these processes are vastly improved. When sleep deprived, the body is unable to engage in the wound healing processes as it is actively working to maintain normal bodily functions. With sleep deprivation, the most significant complication involves the loss of growth hormone secretion which not only impairs wound healing, it impairs total body function.

If you suffer from an injury that involves a wound, either internal or external, it is important to understand the impact your sleep may have on your recovery. In many cases, pain and other wound healing complications impede the ability of the sufferer from gaining quality sleep. As a result, pain medications prescribed often include both a pain alleviating component but also a sleeping aide. As you work through your recovery, it is important to ask your physician to guide you through the processes that involve sleep and to reduce the risk for sleep deprivation.

In addition to the actual wound healing process, quality sleep also serves to promote improvement in the immune system. With improved immune system, you can reduce your risk for additional injury, infection and improve your mental state of mind. These dynamics are also important to the wound and injury healing process.