The Effects Of Sleep Deprivation On Basic Vital Signs And Cognitive Function Essay

Thesis: Sleep deprivation can lead to serious health problems, make you forget information, and have a negative impact on the outlook of life.

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.

Sleep duration and quality participate in normal metabolism, function of immune system, mood, and cognitive functioning [1]. Short duration of sleep and circadian misalignment are hypothesized to contribute to many problems of health including over weight, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiac disease, mood disorders, cognitive dysfunction, and

Humans need sleep. Sleep is essential to a myriad of proper bodily functions. It effects memory, focus, mobility, and general brain function. If excessively deprived from sleep, individuals will certainly experience adverse health effects, imminent death being one of them (Worthman, 2008). Although many experts disagree on the details of what comprises ‘good’ sleep (hours, environment, noise level, body position etc.) the necessity of sleep is widely accepted (Worthman, 2008).

To find out how sleep deprivation affects humans, Dement (1960) connected participants of his study to an electroencephalogram in his sleep laboratory. The participant got woken up any time they showed signs of entering REM sleep. I was found that REM sleep deprivation made test participants more aggressive and suffered from poor concentration than the control group. They also tried to enter REM sleep straight after going to sleep. They made 26 attempts to enter REM sleep by the seventh night. It is to conclude that REM sleep is necessary for proper brain functioning as the brain goes into REM rebound, when deprived of

According to the National Sleep Foundation, 45% of Americans report that poor or insufficient sleep, at least one day each week or more, affects their day-to-day lives. Poor sleep not only makes us feel tired and sluggish, it can also affect our mood, relationships, health, and even our job performance. If that wasn’t enough, your personal risk of injury and accidents – at home, on the road, and at work – sharply increases with poor sleep patterns. It’s easy to see how lack of good sleep is quickly becoming a true health crisis in America.

Many disorders and diseases can result from abnormal sleeping patterns that are triggered from sleep deprivation. The most common forms of sleep disorders include insomnia, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, and narcolepsy (NINDS 10). All of these sleep disorders begin from sleep deprivation and can be managed once they are diagnosed correctly. According to Urban, “Nervousness, dizziness, and sleeplessness may occur”, as a result of sleep deprivation (1). This proves that the slightest health changes can occur if sleep deprivation becomes a problem. According to NINDS, “The disorders and the resulting sleep deprivation interfere with work, driving, and social activities” (10). This shows that the effects of being sleep deprived can drastically change one’s everyday

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

“Unexpected Ways Sleep Deprivation Makes Life Tougher” written by Andrea Peterson, the writer for the Wall Street Journal, explained how not having enough sleep can affect your body and your performance. What one does not obtain the correct amount of sleep it can cause short term and long term effects such as long term memory, short term memory, recall and performance in daily life. Sleep deprivation is a problem that is often overlooked in today’s society. This purpose of this article is to inform our society about the side effects of sleep deprivation in hope of influencing one to change their sleeping patterns. If you do not get the appropriate amount of sleep your daily life will become just that much more difficult.

Sleep is essential to life, as it can affect how we look, feel and perform on a daily basis. Sleep deprivation can have a major impact on our overall quality of life. On average, we spend a third of our life asleep. Sleep regenerates our brains and bodies, and without it we cannot function effectively. During sleep the body undergoes several physiological and psychological processes; processing information, learning and consolidating memories. New knowledge about the importance of sleep, the health consequences of chronic sleep deprivation, and sleep disorders has suffered in recent years. Chronic sleep loss and untreated sleep disorders have a profound and diverse impact on health, behavior, and quality of life (Robotham, 2011).

What do the effects of sleep deprivation have on people? When a person does not get enough sleep, he or she is depriving his or her body of something that it needs. A delightful sleep is one of the most satisfying human experiences with a role to play in supporting a good mood and cognitive acuity as well as in promoting physiologic balance and resilience (Chittora, Jain and Suhalka). People think because they get an insufficient number of hours of sleep, they will not have an emotional impact by it. Sleep is a required need for peoples’ day to day life to be able to perform and stay healthy emotionally and physically. The effects of sleep deprivation are an issue because it affects mood, performance, and health.

Many people don’t understand how important sleep is. “One aspect of brain health that has been well examined through neuroimaging and cognitive testing is the influence of sleep on the brain. The findings are indeed a wake up call with regard to the impact on focus memory, test performance, mood, and high risk behaviors.”(Willis 1). Throughout

Through the analysis of psychological studies, I suggest to those who struggle with sleep deprivation to attempt to gain more sleep. The studies the way sleep affects our behaviors, moods, and cognitive abilities. With the help of psychology, individuals gain a better awareness for the ways sleep deprivation affects the

How well did you sleep last night?  It may be affecting your day more than you think.  For thousands of us firefighters our night at work may be hurting our performance, our health, and our way of life.  This is a relatively new issue that needs more focus on since it effects so many individuals in this job.  Sleep deprivation is linked with increased errors in completing various tasks, quick decision-making, and the ability to think critically. Too many work hours often are associated with chronic sleep loss, which may result in decreased ability to think clearly, handle stress and become tough to work with.  This study of the effects of sleep deprivation is important for many reasons. This is important fact is the due to the lack of adequate