Abstract
Objective: Analyze, through a systematic literature review, the impact of sleep deficit on health throughout all stages of life and associate it with the appearance of several diseases. Methods: A literary review was carried out in the scientific databases of the medical area, such as Latindex, Medline and Lilacs, with the descriptors “Sleep-Wake Disorders”, “Sleep Deprivation”, “Sleep Stages”, “Sleep Slow-Wave”, “Sleep REM”, and their correspondents in Portuguese and Spanish. At the end of the analysis, 29 texts met the established selection parameters. Results: Poor sleep quality in pregnant women is associated with a higher risk of premature births. In addition, decreases in sleep time in children tend to lead to shorter telomeres, which increase mortality and morbidity in adulthood. In adolescence, insufficient sleep influences eating and physical activity patterns, affecting their health and development. Cardiovascular diseases, obesity, decreased fertility, psychiatric disorders and unwanted epigenetic changes are triggered in adults. Disturbed sleep in the elderly can lead to intensified night falls. Final considerations: Sleep deprivation is proven to be associated with the development of systemic diseases at all stages of life.