Sleep Deprivation Essay

Sleep deprivation can have serious consequences, it can affect not only your physical health but your metal health as well. Some implications of a largely sleep deprived society would be poor work performance, bad moods, and anger or depression. According to the webmd article “The Toll of Sleep Loss in America” it states that “Today, about 20% of Americans report that they get less than 6 hours of sleep on average.” (Davis, 2006). The human body should be getting at least 8 hours of sleep at night on average. Sleep Deprivation can also cause driving accidents because people are out on the road while tired.

Sleep is a rather peculiar action. Why does the brain and the body basically need to lose connection to the world for a few hours? Insomnia, which is the inability to sleep, can cause many symptoms and they are not delightful whatsoever. Sleep deprivation is not only rough because of obvious reasons, but the consequences that harm the brain and body can be devastating. Even if people know what sort of symptoms are, they do not know why these things happen.

There are various negative effects to not getting enough sleep at night. Weight gain is one negative affect of not getting sleep. If you've been getting less the seven hours of sleep daily then you might notice you waistline expanding. The body has a hard time processing the protein leptin which regulates the metabolism. When your metabolism is slow and you food craving increases, it is very easy to gain weight. Not getting enough sleep can also cause stress. If you are up at night thinking about problems and different situations, you can get really mess up your sleeping habits and be even more stressed.Sleep deprivation can also cause you to have a weak immune system.If you can sleep, it is very possible for you to be catching illnesses such as a cold or the flu. Not getting the sleep, makes it tougher for you body to fight off bacteria and viruses. One of the worst cons of not getting enough sleep is impaired memory and brain function.Sleep deprivation can impair many functions of the brain, including how it processes information and how you think, make

There are various short term and long term consequences of sleep deficiency. In the short term your mental and physical performance will decrease along with your reaction time. Lack of sleep can cause poor decision making which could put lives at risk. A Soldier might give out or hear the wrong coordinates. If a Soldier was in the field they could accidently get into a friendly fire incident or administer the wrong medication or dosage. Each one of these

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.

Sleep deprivation has a lot of dangers associated with it. It can cause hypertension and, because of something commonly called Sleep Debt, it sometimes causes dangerous driving conditions. Sleep debt is the amount of sleep a person has lost over time, and it must be paid back just like a money loan would need to be (Dement & Vaughan, p. 501). Christopher Dement explains (1999), “Regardless of how rapidly it [sleep debt] can be paid back, the important thing is that the size of the sleep debt and its dengerous effects are definitely directly related to the amount of lost sleep” (p. 501). Risks for hypertension have also been linked to sleep deprivation because it can increase a person’s stress level. A study done by Dr. Susan Redline and published in the Science Journal Circulation on August 19, 2008 reports that:

Sleep is an important part of life, which has a broad effect on your quality of your life. If you are not able to get enough sleep some common effects are looking bad, feeling moody which might lead to fights or arguments with others, and performing poorly at school or just generally in life. An example could be while driving, if you’re sleepy you’re more prone to get into a crash, which of course isn’t good. Some other effects of lack of sleep are being more prone to injury, sickness, stress, acne and gaining weight. Furthermore, you might develop sleeping disorders, such as narcolepsy, insomnia or sleep apnea. Altogether, sleep is essential

You may have difficulty thinking clearly in simple tasks. These tasks may include putting a DVD in a player or writing your name. Although they may seem like straightforward undertakings, a person's ability to concentrate is inadequate when sleep is not prioritized. Also sleep deprivation is vital in creating memories. Furthermore, sleep helps with memory and thinking processes. In addition, sleep will cause an altered state of consciousness which will in turn causes fuzziness, disorganization and limited alertness. This results in difficulty paying attention in activities such as driving. Another example of how sleep deprivation negatively effect you life, is the inability to focus on a test. Without sleep your focus and logical thinking would be

When a person has lack of sleep they will experience memory loss, increases impulsiveness, and poor judgement. When lacking these qualities, the brain craves things to fill these gaps. To fill these cravings, the brain will try to use things like alcohol and drugs to sedate you. This can also lead to weight gain because your will release a hormone signaling to your brain that you need more carbohydrates and sugars. A study that was noted in this TED Talk was a

Not enough sleep can give brain damage. A person can go brain-dead if they don´t get enough sleep. Teens get into car accidents because of no sleep. No sleep can lead to students being health deprived.

Let’s focus on the effects of Sleep deprivation, these being poor concentration, slower reaction time, impaired judgment, and risk of falling asleep at the wheel. All awful symptoms to have when you are piloting a 2 ton piece of metal zipping by at over 50mph. Most people need 7 to 8 hours of sleep to stay healthy and if they don’t reach this goal they start to suffer from sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation is the loss or absence of necessary sleep which eventually leads to negative health effects. Everyone needs sleep and just because you get 8 hours of sleep the day after an all-nighter that doesn’t mean you are in good health, you still have a sleep dept. A sleep dept. is when you do not get the necessary amount of sleep so the negative

There are, of course, side effects of the lack of sleep. Mental and physical deterioration will occur as well. There are four rough stages of this, with the first being the panic attacks and unfounded phobias lasting for months, the second being severe panic attacks, and now even hallucinations, lasting for even more months. When no more sleep is capable of being achieved,

Scientists are still trying to find out why people need to sleep. They are conducting a research on animals in trying to show why it is necessary to sleep. Some experts believe sleep allows the body to repair itself from the harmful effects of stress and ultraviolet rays. The researchers have now come to the agreement that sufficient sleep is vital to health and wellness. (NSF)

Sleep is important as it helps you keep your body healthy and full of energy. Your body seems to almost shrink when not given the proper sleep. You don't retain the nutrients that you need to keep in order to keep your weight and energy up. With this you can do more than you use to, won't be able to lift as much and will not be able to do straining activities like you use to. This can often lead to stress and on occasion fights with family members as it seems like you aren't doing your best to them. This can lead you into multiple of things as well as jumble up your emotions. I find that when I go more than two days without enough sleep I get moody, often angry and snap on anyone near me. Often times I get sad and an instant later I am happy. It also strains relationships with anyone. You get friends that constantly want to go out and have fun, friends that want to go watch a movie or friends that grow irritated when you stop talking to them. It messes with you emotionally and messes with how you think and react to certain things. In my personal experience I often find myself depressed at times or slow to react to things that I am normally able to react fast to.

Why is sleep so important to us? There have been studies done that suggest that sleep deprivation can be detrimental to or decrease the function of our immune systems. Just think, how often was it that after many days of continual sleep deprivation did you start to think that you had a cold? Sleep deprivation can also result in a decrease in core body temperature, decrease in the release of growth hormone, and possible cause an increase in heart rate variability. Sleep also seems to be important in order for our nervous system to work properly. Without sufficient amount of sleep, our behavior and our ability to do things are impaired. We feel drowsy and are unable to concentrate after not getting enough sleep. With enough sleep deprivation, it has been found that some begin to hallucinate and develop mood swings. Higher-ordered cognitive task become more difficult to do where it has been shown that tests that require speed and accuracy have lower results compared to those that are not sleep deprived. Judgment is also impaired; it has been tested that riskier behavior is more likely to occur when sleep deprived. (2).This is part of the reason why you should not drive when you are sleep deprived. Aside from the risk of falling asleep at the wheel, since judgment is