Sleep Loss On Attention And Cognitive Performance Essay

There are a few factors that are essential for life such as breathing or eating, but one of the most essential factor is sleep. Even though the amount of sleep people need differs from one individual to another, the fact is that eventually everyone needs to sleep. People know the importance of sleep, but due to the increased workload and the pressure of society people are getting less sleep. As a result, there has been an increase interest on the effects lack of sleep has on the mind especially the memory of a person. Many questions arose about the relationship between sleep and memory due to the fact most high school and college students have become sleep deprived. For example, does more sleep mean higher grades?

In the present study we sought to characterize abnormalities in sleep architecture and quality, in a cohort of patients with medically refractory versus and controlled epilepsy, versus normal healthy controls and to study the effect of sleep parameters on cognitive function in these groups. The main observations made were of significantly longer self-reported and polysomnographic TST in patients with refractory epilepsy in comparison to controlled epilepsy and healthy controls. Sleep architecture was also found to be markedly disturbed among epilepsy patients in both groups, with prolonged REM latencies, and frequent arousals and awakenings although these abnormalities were statistically similar between the groups. Our main observation is that higher total sleep time has a negative correlation with memory and executive function performance.

The students could rate their current mood on a scale from zero to seven. The higher the

Sleep is an essential fuel in balancing a college student’s performance; being crucial for learning, and physical and mental health. The consistency of a good quantity of sleep (8 to 9 hours) lays great importance beyond many of a college student; yet progressively, sleep deprivation among college students is still at its worse and has not changed in college students since the olden days, when today it is still not healthy. This ultimately factors into a college student’s grade point average ( consequently lowering it), “increased risk of academic failure, compromised learning, impaired mood, and increased risk of motor vehicle accidents”[1] Though, students tend to prioritize their matters in work, homework,

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 brain has to perform calculations on a day to day basis, and not giving it rest causes to accumulate stress. Besides processing calculations in order to carry out daily tasks, the brain also perceives enormous amounts of information, and needs down time to organize all the information. Usually the consolidating of all the information takes place when a person is sleeping, therefore depriving the brain of sleep will cause incognizant brain function and leave one groggy throughout the next day (Sample, 1). Distinct implications of decrease in brain function is displayed when a person experiences drowsiness throughout the day, which causes truncated memory retention rates and loss of

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

Lack of sleep has become a major problem in the United States since many people haven’t realized how healthy sleeping habits affect their health, life, study and work. When people have a sleep disorder or lack sleep for a long period, there will be a high possibility that they will have a health concern, including heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke. At the same time, lack of sleep would affect people’s brain in terms of processing information so that people cannot think, learn efficiently, or make a good decision. When people are feeling drowsy during their daily activities due to lack of sleep, their or other people’s lives can be threatened if they are driving or doing something that needs full attention to avoid an accident.

In life, we all encounter those night where we can’t seem to get to sleep. This can be due to insomnia or having a lot of things to do and little time to do them. During college and afterwards people will begin to deal with a lack of sleep more and more as they gain more responsibilities. I’ve always heard it’s not good to go without sleep and I agree with this thought. This was confirmed when we had a lecture on consciousness. We discussed how our sleep and wake schedule, biological clocks, bodily functions, etc., are controlled by circadian rhythms (Truelove, 2017).

Sufficient sleep is a biological necessity for the normal functioning of humans, it allows the body to rest and to replenish itself so that it is able to serve its function of living. In addition, mental and physical health depend on the amount of sleep we get. Most adults and students value work and college much more than sleep, this is due to the academic, career, and materialistic demands. Researchers have noted a positive correlation between lack of sleep and decreased physical health, mental health, and academic performance. Sleep consists of two cycles: non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM), which are sleep patterns that alternate throughout the night. Firstly, sleep begins with non-REM sleep lasting about 90 minutes followed by REM sleep lasting 10-30 minutes, then the cycle repeats itself. REM sleep is the most important phase of sleep because the body is internally awake, with waking-like brain activity, yet asleep and externally calm. Thus, an uninterrupted REM phase of sleep is necessary for integrating previously learned material, and giving the individual a feeling of being well rested and refreshed. Many individuals will put sleep off so that more work hours, and school work can be fit into the day in order to get a better outcome such as job promotions or better academic grades, but I believe that sleep deprived people show a low performance in daily tasks due to suffering from mental, and physical health disorders.

The need for sleep and the feeling of being tired is a basic drive that every person goes through. Not recognizing the importance and the critical damage it does to each and everyone’s body can cause complications to oneself and to others. Not only does sleep debt affect people physically but also mentally and emotionally. Not being able to concentrate on what is being told or being able to complete the task because the body is tired and falling asleep isn't the wise nor productive way to be when it can be avoided. Though many do not bear in mind the hours of sleep the body is missing daily, people tend to blame other things in place of reality of what is really causing the disputed point.

For some, sleep may seem like wasted hours of doing nothing, and for others, it’s a reward for when all our important work is finally complete. However, the value of getting a good night’s sleep is often misunderstood as it’s a critical moment in which our body balances and regulates our vital systems. Instead of cramming to until 4 in the morning to study and forcing yourself to stay away with an extra cup of coffee, it’s best to close your eyes and get some sleep as it allows your body to regenerate itself. Many are unaware of how crucial sleep is to your brain as it affects everything from your respiratory system to your ability to recall information. Marcu explains how sleep restructures your brain in a way that’s necessary for how our

We have always known that we need sleep, but up until the 1950s, most people thought of sleep as a passive, dormant part of our daily lives. We now know that our brains are very active during sleep. Moreover, sleep affects our daily functioning and

Sleep deprivation is a common issue among people around the world, and everyone has or will experience it in their life. Not getting enough sleep makes it difficult for the body to function properly. Insomnia is a well-known disorder, mainly known in the United States; one in ten adults suffers from this disorder (Kloc). There are many reasons why people end up with a sleeping disorder, and the most common reason is stress. When people do not have enough sleep they behave differently, and do not make the same choices as if they were fully rested. There are four stages of sleep. The fourth stage, REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep is the most important stage of sleeping. A common side effect of BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) is sleep

Sleep is one of the things that most students can say they do not get enough of. It is a time for us to rest and for a few blissful hours hopefully forget about the stress and worries of school and life. Unfortunately, due to too much work or too much studying to do, often enough, we do not get the amount we need each night to be fully rested the next day. But we have learned to cope with the sleep deprivation by drinking coffee in the morning to wake us up. Even though we are awake, how well can we function throughout the day when we have only had less than five hours of sleep? How much does our behavior change without enough sleep?