No one likes experiencing sleep deprivation, but do those extra hours of work instead of sleep put your health at risk? What about your ability to think and problem solve?

KSL and IntelliBED want to aid you in obtaining adequate sleep, so consider what things might stand in your way — whether it's failing to prioritize sleep, a busy schedule or even an uncomfortable mattress. Read through the following five negative effects of inadequate sleep to find out just how much lack of sleep could be hurting you and, most importantly, what you can do about it.

1. Increased risk of chronic disease

An International Journal of Cancer research study found a link between women's irregular work/sleep schedules and the rate of breast cancer. A recent study from South Korea found that people who sleep less than five hours and over nine hours per night show two important risk factors that contribute to heart disease.

The data that shows negative health effects of reduced sleep goes on and on. If you're not getting adequate sleep (for adults, seven to nine hours each night), you're putting yourself at risk for multiple serious health conditions, such as:

• Breast cancer
• Heart disease
• Hypertension
• Diabetes
• Heart attack
• Stroke

2. Reduced longevity

Along with the above health issues, sleep deprivation has been proven to reduce a person's lifespan. So even if your chronic lack of sleep doesn't result in a diagnosed disease, it most certainly reduces your chances of living longer by 20 percent.

Sleep is the way that your body rejuvenates and renews itself, completing important processes that heal, strengthen and protect your body. But if you always cut these processes short or don't give them enough time to happen, it directly reduces your ability to live a long and healthy life.

3. Lowered IQ in children

Adequate sleep proves especially important for a particular demographic: infants and children. Studies have shown that if humans don't obtain adequate sleep while young, their IQ is significantly lower than those who did get enough sleep.

4. Reduced mental ability in adults

In life, your job and your hobbies, it's convenient to have a brain that functions well. But losing a single night of sleep can more than double your difficulty in coming up with novel solutions to difficult problems.

Sleep deprivation causes your brain to move more slowly than usual, which in turn affects your judgment and reflexes. In an estimate by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 100,000 police-reported crashes result from driver fatigue each year.

Fatigued driving is dangerous with effects similar to drunk driving, including delayed reaction time, poor vision and impaired judgment. When people aren't getting enough sleep, it puts everyone around them at risk, and not just on the road.

5. Increased weight gain

Recent sleep studies have also found a link between inadequate sleep and significant weight gain. Men who had chronic sleep issues increased their intake of high-calorie foods, and women who got too little or too much sleep gained 11 pounds.

According to some, if you traded one hour of television a night for an extra hour of sleep, you'd be able to lose up to 14.3 pounds per year! How's that for a New Year's resolution?

Prioritize sleep in your nights

So how do you avoid all of these negative effects? Start by prioritizing sleep and get at least seven hours each night. Keep electronics away from the bedroom and instead of falling asleep to the white noise from the TV, replace your remote with a good book.

One of the best ways to prioritize sleep is obtaining a comfortable mattress that makes falling asleep easy and enjoyable. Visit IntelliBED to find the perfect mattress for your health and comfort.

To kick off National Sleep Awareness Week, you can get a $500 credit from your old mattress towards a new Queen or King-sized mattress, so visit IntelliBED today.

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