Not Getting Enough Sleep? Have You Checked Your Wallet Recently?

[caption id="attachment_2602" align="alignleft" width="342" caption="Not Getting Enough Sleep?"][/caption]

Most people wouldn't connect these dots, but studies have shown that a lack of sleep can cost you a fortune. Whether it's going to bed late at night, or not being able to fall asleep, when you aren't getting enough sleep, your wallets are taking a tole. Here are the "6 Ways Lack of Sleep is Costing You A Fortune," courtesy of Yahoo Finance & US News:

More Accident-Prone

Driving sleep deprived can be as dangerous as driving drunk. Anywhere from 16 percent to 60 percent of car accidents involve a sleep-deprived driver, and 30 to 40 percent of all heavy truck accidents are caused by fatigue. Additionally, if you haven't gotten enough sleep, chances are you are going to be a bit clumsier than normal, resulting in a higher probability of having an accident doing routine tasks around the home or office.

Increased Medical Expenses

People who don't get enough sleep are more likely to have health issues. People who don't get enough sleep are 15 percent more likely to have a stroke and 48 percent more likely to develop or pass away from heart disease. Additionally, people who sleep four hours or less each night have a 75 percent higher chance of being obese due to the fact that sleep deprivation can affect appetite hormones.

Bad Financial Decision Making

If you're tired, chances are you are more likely to make risky decisions. When you don't get enough sleep, you don't have as much dopamine in your system, which alters your decision-making skills. Sleep deprivation causes people to restrict their choices to decisions that promise bigger gains, which aren't always the best ways to accomplish positive results. In relation to your finances, this means that lack of sleep can alter the way you make financial decisions, causing you to make more risky gambles with your finances than you normally would.

Sucking Out Success

When you haven't gotten enough sleep, your brain doesn't function as efficiently and isn't able to remember things as well. It has been shown that employees who have insomnia cost employers $3,225 more than employees who get enough sleep. It has also been shown that students who don't get enough sleep the night before a test don't do as well on the test as students who do. The overall GPA of a sleep-deprived student versus a student who gets enough sleep is 2.84 as compared to 3.18.

Read more at Yahoo Finance