Ever lost sleep over your bills or money problems?  I know I have.   According to a study done by the Harvard Medical School, loss of sleep can cause the following problems:

1. Learning and memory: Sleep helps the brain commit new information to memory through a process called memory consolidation.
2. Metabolism and weight: Chronic sleep deprivation may cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates, and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite.
3. Mood: Sleep loss may result in irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness. Too little sleep can also leave you too tired to do the things you like to do.
4. Cardiovascular health: Serious sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and irregular heartbeat.
5. Disease: Sleep deprivation alters immune function, including the activity of the body’s killer cells. Keeping up with sleep may also help fight cancer.

Now there is a new poll conducted by joint effort of the Associated Press and America Online (AOL), which looks at all of the health issues reported by an anxiety-ridden public over mountains of debt.

From the Pittsburgh Post Gazette: 

When people are dealing with mountains of debt, they’re much more likely to report health problems, too, according to an Associated Press-AOL Health poll. And not just little stuff; this means ulcers, severe depression, even heart attacks.   That finding is supported by medical research that has linked chronic stress to a wide range of ailments.

And the current tough economic times and rising costs of living seem to be leading to increasing debt stress, 14 percent higher this year than in 2004, according to an index tied to the AP-AOL survey.

• 27 percent had ulcers or digestive tract problems, compared with 8 percent of those with low levels of debt stress.

• 44 percent had migraines or other headaches, compared with 15 percent.

• 29 percent suffered severe anxiety, compared with 4 percent.

• 23 percent had severe depression, compared with 4 percent.

• 6 percent reported heart attacks, double the rate for those with low debt stress.

• More than half, 51 percent, had muscle tension, including pain in the lower back. That compared with 31 percent of those with low levels of debt stress.

People who reported high stress also were much more likely to have trouble concentrating and sleeping, and were more prone to getting upset for no good reason.

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