Sleep, while one of the most blissful and relaxing things we do to survive, is also one of the most essential. When we close our eyes for those few hours each night, we give our body the chance to recharge after all the stresses of the previous day. Millions of processes go on while you sleep, helping the brain to commit things to memory, while cells go to work regenerating and repairing the tissue that was damaged while we were awake.

When we don’t sleep, however, none of this gets the chance to happen. Not only will we awake feeling cranky the next day and have a difficult time concentrating, prolonged periods of sleep deprivation may have serious consequence on hour health. In fact, ample research has been conducted on exactly what happens to different parts of the body if we are not getting our eight hours each night. What these studies have found is that lack of sleep can cause a slew of serious and life-threatening conditions, ranging from cancers to diabetes, and heart issues. So what exactly are the conditions that have been officially linked to poor sleeping habits? Click “view slideshow” to find out a few.