Sleep Deprivation Affecting The Brain

This article explains the importance of getting the perfect amount of sleep at night. The idea that sleeping for less than five hours or more than nine hours proves to have a negative effect on the human body. Sleep deprivation has a closely related link to memory retention and can cause a person to have trouble with daily task. The author continues to explain that not only is the brain effected by too little or too much sleep, but the rest of the body is also effected. Conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and even depression have links to not getting the perfect amount of sleep. The article concludes with listing tips to get the ideal amount of sleep at night, such as, going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day and limiting the amount of caffeine that is consumed throughout the day.

Sleep is essential for optimal human function. In fact, a lack of sleep can actually affect important cognitive functions, like memory. A 2007 study added to the already substantial evidence that even acute total sleep deprivation impairs attentiveness, working memory, and reaction time in various tasks (Alhola, Polo-Kantola). One such way to further this investigation of the effects of sleep deprivation on memory is through the Memory Interference Test, or MIT. MIT is a program designed by Gaston Pfluegl, Ph.D., and Enrique Lopez, Psy. D., at UCLA to test the memory of students. Along with a memory test, the MIT also anonymously collected the physical states, mental states, and demographics of each student test subject, providing a substantial database through which students can test hypotheses, such as the connection between sleep deprivation and memory. Since the MIT requires short-term memory recall, the hours of sleep a student had before taking the test could have a noticeable effect on his or her performance. An unprecedented study this year found that sleep deprivation may actually even induce false memories, which would certainly impact a student taking the MIT because the test requires the subject to recognize images that have been previously presented to them (Frenda, et al). The hypothesis is that students who slept 8 hours before the test will perform better on the MIT than students who only slept 4 hours. The null hypothesis is that students who had adequate

After looking deeper into the topic of false memory, researchers decided to look into sleep deprivation and what happens to the brain and the body when a person becomes or is sleep deprived. They found that sleep deprivation impairs your everyday performance and ability to do a cognitive task. When it comes to memory, researchers found that sleep deprivation can decrease your working memory and its capacity. That means sleep deprivation can affect how you learn and what you learn and also can affect your functioning to review past learned information. After getting background information and gaining more knowledge about how false memories can be made, it was time to experiment for themselves and make their own results. Within their experiments, they drew a data set by using one hundred and ninety-three undergraduates at the University of California, Irvine and made them take a questionnaire that included passages with traumatic events, that were on the News. Then they assembled pictures for the participants to look at and text for them to

zzzzzz...are you tired? I know I am...of writing this paper! In fact most of the kids in class are probably tired too. Surprisingly, according to WebMD, about 20% of Americans get less than six hours of sleep on average a night (1).With all the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, it is understandable to push sleep off. Harvard University has conducted extensive research, discovering how sleep affects the brain; “given that a single sleepless night can cause people to be irritable and moody the following day, it is conceivable that chronic insufficient sleep may lead to long term mood disorders” (1). Just one night of not sleeping can put one in a bad mood, much less consistent loss of sleep. But how does lack of sleep affect others around us? Sleepiness and sleep deprivation can be accounted for roughly one million car crashes annually in The United States. (Harvard Medical School 1). It is easy to understand that sleep loss is something that affects a majority of the people living in the U.S. and sleep deprivation is something that not only affects us, but affects those around us. Scientists speculate that during the night various sleep cycles playa role on consolidating memories in the mind (Harvard Medical School 3). So knowing that sleep plays such a critical part in the growth and development of our brain, then why do we put it off in order to finish other tasks? And in doing so, what neurological

Sleep deprivation is a phenomena which has been extensively studied on its own, but the effects of sleep deprivation on cognition and working memory in particular have been an area of interest to a lot of researchers. The research done on this topic has collectively found that sleep deprivation has detrimental affects on cognition. Studies such as the experiment conducted by Joo, Yoon, Koo, Kim, and Hong in 2012 outline how sleep deprivation can result in deficits in cognition. The study explored how 24 hours of wakefulness affects cognitive functioning and stress hormones (Joo, Yoon, Koo, Kim, & Hong, 2012). In this study participants underwent electroencephalographic monitoring while performing a test which consisted of responding

We know that brain is the part of our body that never sleeps. We know that when we sleep our brain is very active. Sleep affects our daily activities. Our functional abilities, physical and our mental state affected in many ways from our sleep. There are still many unexplored areas now science is beginning to understand and relevant to the effects of sleep in our lives. Sleep is controlled by groups of neurons found in the brain stem. These neurons produce chemicals, such as serotonin and norepinephrine, which belong to the class of neurotransmitters. Whether you sleep or awake, controlled by neurotransmitters. The same substances regulate and which parts of the brain will operate continuously while you sleep. Another substance called adenosine

Sleep is vital to give the cerebral cortex (the brain's "thinking" part) a rest. When we’re in a deep sleep, rapid eye movement (REM) occurs when your eyes move rapidly up for 30 minutes at a time, it continues every 90 minutes. Most of our dreaming happens during REM and our eyes moving forcefully, our bodies are very relaxed and that’s what make us continue to sleep. “One of the most recent and compelling explanations for why we sleep is based on findings that sleep is correlated to changes in the structure and organization of the brain. this phenomenon, known as brain plasticity, is not connection to sleep has several plays a critical implications. it is becoming clear, that sleep plays a critical role in brain development in infants and

From a cognitive perspective sleep deprivation occurs because conscious thinking patterns and value judgements that an individual perceives will or will not give them an expected outcome.

Resting and sleeping is a basic biological activity of the human body, which helps people adjust their biological clock every day? So what would it be like when we do not have enough sleep? How does sleep affect our brain?

William Kilgore’s article “Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognition” begins to explain effects of sleep deprivation and its power ability to attack the mind. One way sleep deprivation is successful in this endeavor is by interrupting normal cognitive function of a human being. This includes slowing down the minds ability to be alert and attentive. Sleep deprivation also has a major negative on perception and planned tasks that are important in a person’s life. This distorted perception opens people up to negative thoughts and actions, leaving people defenseless against themselves. Sleep deprivation is a silent killer when it comes to our minds, attacking the necessary tools in our minds to be productive.

Sleep is one of the main components to have a fresh start in the morning. Everyone needs their good sleep so they can stay focused, interactive, and productive while at work or school. In this study, we wanted to see if sleep patterns influence the subject’s social interactions. Many college students and adults working need to have a decent amount of sleep for the next day to be productive. By giving 2 groups 2 different sleep schedules and then testing them in a social setting, we can see if there is an effect of sleep on social functions. The control group would be placed in a normal sleep setting and be strictly held to 8 hours of sleep. The experimental group would be woken up every hour for 8 hours. We would then put the subjects into a work shop with scientists, and they graded them to see how productive and tolerable they were.

Sleep is the mysterious shift in consciousness that our bodies require every day (sleep council). Sleep scientists have explored these changes in depth, & their definition of sleep is tied to characteristic patterns of brain waves & other physiological functions (Harvard, 2008).

According the the website the Gallup “Medical studies have related a lack of sleep to health problems and cognitive impairment. Therefore, experts typically recommend seven to nine hours sleep for adults. Currently, 59% of U.S. adults meet that standard, but in 1942, 84% did. That means four in 10 Americans get less than the recommended amount of nightly sleep, compared with the 11% who did so 70 years ago.” One may feel like sleep deprivation effects just their mood, but it can also affect their mind and their physical performance.

Since technology has become more advanced there has been a trend in people who are not getting a full night’s rest. According to the National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research, “at least 40 million Americans suffer from chronic, long-term sleep disorders” (Sleep Disorders and Sleeping Problems”). There are several causes for the increase in lack of sleep or sleep deprivation; which include, using electronics late at night, using your bed for more than just sleeping, and anxiety.

The purpose of this paper is to research and analyze the negative effects of sleep loss on humans lead to major and minor inefficiency. Every year, sleep loss and sleep disorder affect human performance, safety at work and quality of life. This research will analyze the sleep deprivation both by choice and due to health issue. The data that use in this paper will only limit to the average data so the results would not skew and show any bias based on the differences between the groups. The chosen groups to analyze would be students who stay up late studying or workers who are required to stay awake the whole night such as an ER doctor or pilot. The groups who have medical issues that prevent them to achieve the whole night sleep would benefit from learning of the mental and physical health effects that are associated with sleep deprivation. The question is raised whether loss of sleep every 24 hours results in a cumulative sleep debt, nor sleep can be saved up ahead of time. “Regardless, sleep is not optional, it’s something we need to perform well” (Davenport, 2006). The answer would be included in this paper. In this research, there will be a discussion about the best way to pay back when having sleep debt and way to prevent sleep debt.