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Effects Of Deprivation On The Human Body

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Deprivation of sleep has been linked to a variety of health issues from type II diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases, to mental health issues such as depression (Porkka-Heiskanen, Zitting & Wigren, 2013). The busy lifestyles of Western culture in the 21st century have increasingly deprived individuals of sleep. This could potentially be a contributing reason that there has been an increase of obesity in cultures such as that of the United States. But what makes humans sleep? Why, as a species, do we need to sleep? Beyond that of feeling tired, science has yet to come to a unanimous decision as to the reasons behind the human race needing to sleep. T. Porkka-Heiskanen, K.M. Zitting, and H.K. Wigren reviewed various research studies and compiled a report of some of the various theories as to why humans need sleep and the potential effects of lack of sleep on the human body, both physically and psychologically. Sleep has been identified in all species studied thus far. It consists of a global (encompassing the entire body) state of immobilization, a specific posture, and a lowered ability to interact with the surrounding environment (Porkka-Heiskanen et al., 2013). Research has found that sleep is more of a continuous process containing different phases that are characterized by the measurement of electrical activity in the brain rather than a single state (Porkka-Heiskanen et al., 2013). Using electroencephalography (EEG) the different stages of sleep can be

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