Sleep is undeniably a necessity for humans and other animals alike. At the beginning of each day, our bodies awake like clockwork in conjunction with the rising sun. Then, at day’s end, they begin to wind down into sleep until the morning. While there certainly may be plenty of mysteries revolving sleep that have yet to been unraveled, from all the way up until now and for centuries to come, it is evident that sleep should hold priority in the schedules of all people. Yet, despite all of this being true, sleep is consistently being taken for granted. And, it is not an overgeneralization to say that many people have, at least once, trudged through a late night as many people have. Even to the point of the night no longer being considered “a …show more content…
Based on the latest update on the National Sleep Foundation’s sleep time duration recommendation, seven to nine hours of sleep for young adults and adults represent the standard amount of sleep for healthy individuals.(Hirshkowitz et al., 2015) To be fair however, it comes as no surprise to most people, as it has, for many years, have been sleeping around those hours before. Be that as it may, it helps to bring into light why in recent years, more and more people are getting less sleep than they used to. As observed previously, it should not, and is not challenging to find evidence of people reportedly lacking sufficient sleep. In reference to a poll made by the National Sleep Foundation, approximately 39% of people living in Great Britain, 53% of Americans, and 66% of Japanese all report sleeping fewer than seven hours on an average work night. This is reason for concern evidently as any sleep times far below of the seven to nine hour time range most typically indicate signs or symptoms of more severe physical health problems. In particular, recent studies have been providing evidence that correlates the lack of adequate sleep with increased risk of health problems such as: type 2 diabetes, child- and adulthood obesity, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and a higher risk of mortality to top it …show more content…
Day by day, if one were to consistently voluntarily restrict their sleeping hours, he or she would gradually build up what is referred to as “sleep debt”. Sleep debt defines the cumulative effect of reduced sleep hours. (Dinges et al., 1997) The more and more the sleep debt grows from not getting a single good night’s rest, the more moody, irritable, and incoherent a person can get. While there are no limits to the extent of how moody, irritable, and incoherent someone can become, there gets to a certain point where a person’s awareness of how tired or sleepy he or she is goes down. In addition to that, increased sleep debt has also resulted in a decrease in the responsiveness of cognitive brain functions. This phenomena is what is being described and what occurred in the introductory anecdote above. It was not because of the body genuinely feeling less tired and drowsy more so was it that the awareness of the hypothetical person to recognize how tired he/she was has gone down. In reality, it will take more than a few hours to fully recover from sleep deprivation. Based on a study focusing on the effects of cumulative sleep debt, a sample size of 16 adults were chosen and were forced to sleep approximately 5 hours each night, well under the recommended average. (Dinges et al., 1997) The results of this study show that there is
For Article Critique one I chose the article “The Cumulative Cost of Additional Wakefulness: Dose-Response Effects on Neurobehavioral Functions and Sleep Physiology From Chronic Sleep Restriction and Total Sleep Deprivation (P.A., H., Greg, M., Janet M., M., & David F., D. (2003)”. This article was written and submitted for publication in 2003. I found this article very interesting due to the fact that I myself, work off a very unusual work schedule and feel that I am a victim of sleep deprivation personally. For example, I find that I maintain from 4-7.5 hours of sleep a night. This has become very taxing on me not only mentally but psychically. This is why I chose this article, it is personally relatable.
Sleep is an extremely interesting phenomenon in which the mind almost completely departs from the usual realm of consciousness. It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness and a decreased ability to react to stimuli where we become less aware of our surroundings. However, it is more easily reversed than being in hibernation or a coma. It is a function that has been extensively researched by many. After all, we would not have evolved a mechanism that forces us to spend one-third of our lives sleeping unless sleep did us some good. What good does it do tough? Over the years, many theories have been proposed as to why we need sleep. The simplest is that it saves energy. An individual’s energy expenditure and demand is reduced during the day,
Morgan Manella in the article “Study: A Third of U.S. Adults Don’t Get Enough Sleep” argues that sleep deprivation can have a negative effect in someone’s health. Manella supports her argument by presenting statistics that shows how adults that don’t enough sleep have chronic conditions. The author’s purpose is to raise awareness so that people will sleep more often and have a better health condition.
Sleep is a beautiful thing, but people do not get enough of it. It is a time for the body to rejuvenate and process the events of the day. Sleeping is something that we seek out. Getting the recommended amount of sleep allows our body to function properly the next day. Without it, there could be detrimental consequences. The National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke says that without sleep, neurons could be “polluted with byproducts”. In severe cases, people who get very little sleep often experience mood swings, hallucinations and cells do not continue to reproduce.
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (2012) stated that the recommended amount of sleep for adults is 7-8 hours a day. However , personally my weekday’s sleeping hours is approximately 5.5 hours everyday. Sleep Deprivation may trigger mood disturbance like depression and anxiety , decrease in academic performance due to reducing memory and concentration and increase calorie consumption (Trockel, Barnes, & Egget, 2000).Moreover , the release of cortisol can depress the immune system which make oneself more vulnerable to illness like cold or fever and the increase of upper respiratory infections like headaches can also be seen in university student with sleep deprivation(Irwin, 2002). Importantly, more health consequences of sleep deprivation such as greater use of marijuana , smoking and alcohol abuse are germane to university students (Kloss et al., 2016).
This essay focuses on evaluating three functions of sleep. These functions include mental health (Jackowska et al, 2011), cardiovascular disease (Kronholm et al, 2011) and memory (Hu et al, 2006). The key aspects are explained in detail with regards to studies. The findings from the studies will help justify the function and it’s involvement with sleep. Sleep is important for an individual’s well being, survival, brain development, emotional regulation, cognitive function, memory, and in order to protect mental and cardiovascular health. An individual should sleep for 6-8 hours. A recent suggestion by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommended that an individual should sleep for minimum 7 hours. The quality of sleep is significant to maintain healthy brain functions. Evidence, indicating that good sleep quality is essential for mood and health then duration (Chandola et al, 2010). The researches implied will enable the understanding of the functions of sleep and evaluate the evidence of each of the functions, including advantages and limitations. Furthermore ethical issues are discussed, and an overall summary of the essay is briefed.
Success in life is typically measured by the result of what is accomplished during the waking hours. The degree of effectiveness of those hours however, depend on effective rest. “Sleep is integral to the health and well-being of all people” (Wells 233). Sleep is simply defined as the body’s rest cycle – a time to recharge. The widely accepted metric for normal or sufficient sleep is about 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. When this metric is not met, either through total sleep loss or accumulated sleep debt, the effect can be dire, “Sleep deprivation results in poor memorizing, schematic thinking, which yields wrong decisions, and emotional disturbances such as deteriorated interpersonal responses and increased aggressiveness” (Orzeł-Gryglewska 95). Sleep deprivation hinders the abilities of the mind, harms the body, and shortens length of life.
The TED Talk video that I watched was Why do we sleep by Russel Foster. This TED talk was about why we need sleep and how getting less than the suggested amount affects the brain. There are three main reasons why we need sleep; restoration, energy conservation, and brain function. Only certain genes are turned on when you sleep so you need to sleep in order for those genes to turn on and allow you other genes to be restored, while sleeping you save about 110 calories, sleep helps enhance creativity, and your brain is less likely to retain information if you’re sleep deprived and trying to cram information. On average a teen needs 9 hours of sleep, in the 1950s the average teen was getting 8 hours of sleep, today on average teens are getting 5 hours of sleep, which is half the amount that we need. If you’re not receiving the amount of sleep that you need your body will uncountable got into micro-sleeping which will happen to at least 31% of drivers in their lifetime.
It is basic knowledge that humans need sleep, but that’s where it ends just general knowledge. The article “Sleep On It” discusses how not getting enough sleeps affects you and also remedies to help. I personally am one of those people who sleeps less and says, “I’ll just be tired tomorrow, it’s okay.” After reading this article I now realize how I am putting my body in danger of future risk and it’s not okay. The article discusses that people who get no more than six hours of sleep are at a higher risk of diabetes, heart disease, and gaining more weight. Although the studies mentioned do not show causations, I feel like the correlations are strong enough to understand the negative effects. I found it very interesting no matter which study
On average, an adult should receive at least seven to eight hours of sleep each night to function effectively. Sleep deprivation is caused in many different ways. As reported by Gallup Polls, about 14% of Americans receive 5 hours or less of sleep per night. Many of today’s college students suffer from sleep deprivation. The balancing of classes, extracurricular activities, work, and homework take away from the hours needed to receive sufficient rest. This is called voluntary sleep deprivation, which is when one has the ability to decide whether to rest or continue in what they are doing. These decisions cause one to suffer from many different
Sleep is a basic human need, it affects how we function on a daily basis and is essential for a person’s health and well being. Sleeping allows the body to recharge and affords the brain the opportunity to integrate important facts, memories and emotional impressions recorded from the previous day. There are five stages of sleep that people go through: Stages one, two, three, four, and Rapid Eye Movement (REM). Sleep is important for all human beings but the amount of sleep each person needs is dependent on many different factors, for example age. Infants generally need sixteen hours of sleep a day, teenagers need about nine hours, and for most adults, seven to eight hours a night is ideal. If people do not sleep enough for several nights they
Sleep is crucial for the stability of one’s mind, body, and temper. When an individual enters a sleep deprivation they tend to have exhaustion, irritability, and an inability to focus that can only be remedied by several nights of healthy sleep. The healthy
Seven and a half to nine hours per night, does the average American really have that time to spare? About “35 percent of adults in the United States report less than seven hours of sleep during a typical 24 hour period,” said Michael Twery, a Di-rector of National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute(1). There are multiple reasons that our beauty sleep may get inter-rupted. Having too much on your mind, hormones getting out of control, empty stomach or even our beloved smartphones. Have you ever wondered what we’re really doing to our bodies when we go without the proper amount of shut eye?
It has been scientifically proven that sleep is a crucial biological task that our body performs to maintain optimal functional capacity(Xu, Q. 2010). According to data collected by National sleep foundation short sleep deprivation is linked with many side effects, such as, increased risk of
In the article, “At Every Age, Feeling the Effects of Too Little Sleep,” Jane Brody examines the impacts of sleep deprivation on human health. She argues a significant portion of Americans, throughout all demographics, sleep for fewer than the recommended number of hours each night and that this constant sleep deprivation leads to negative health effects in the short and long terms. Brody attests current sleep levels are inadequate for the sustained health of the American population, claiming hanges ought to be made in order to bring sleep amounts up to a reasonable amount for increased longevity and quality of life. Particularly, Brody advocates for later start times for teenagers and