effects of sleep deprivation

Tristan Ronzo
3-24-15
Eng 101
Cynthia Dobbins
Effects of sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation is a serious issue an estimated 50-70 million U.S. adults suffer from a sleep disorder. (CDC para.1) This is a problem that can effect anyone. Getting a good night’s rest is very important to having a productive day, not getting enough sleep is a lot like wasting a day. There have been a countless number of studies on sleep deprivation to back up the fact that getting enough sleep every night is a fundamental necessity to operate in the day to day world. There are many effects of sleep deprivation, such as depression, impaired judgement, memory loss and some cases death.
First off, prolonged lack of sleep can lead to depression. People who were diagnosed with depression or anxiety were more likely to sleep less than six hours at night (Peri page2). People who lack sleep are 5 times more likely to suffer from depression. In fact, one of the first symptoms of depression is sleep deprivation. By getting enough sleep per night your chances of suffering from depression are significantly decreased.
Impaired judgement is also a side effect of sleep deprivation. This can lead to making poor decisions in many different aspects in life. It leads to people make bad financial decisions, poor decisions while at work, and can make people dangerous drivers on the road. This can also have an effect on a person’s ability to learn new things. Lack of sleep plays a part in the way that a person perceives how a certain situation happened. (Peri page3) A consequence of sleep deprivation is poor decision making skills. Studies show that people who normally get 6 hours of sleep or less tend to think they have become accustomed and unfazed by the lack of sleep, but in reality, when they take tests their scores show that they lack the ability to make the right decision. Also, the time taken to make a decision is increased. This can cause a lot of problems for a student. It is more beneficial to get a good night’s rest than to stay up all night studying for a test the next day. Studies show that the student that stays up studying instead of getting enough sleep actually does worse on the test than the student that slept more. The reason being, is because it is harder for a student that is sleep deprived to use reason on the test.
Memory loss can be a consequence when a person gets an insufficient amount of sleep. “If you’re not able to concentrate on what’s at hand, it’s not going to make it into your short-term memory and then long-term memory,” says Allison T. Siebern. Another problem for a student. If a student does not sleep much before a lecture, then that individual will have more of struggle remembering what was being said during the lecture. This does not only affect students though, it has an effect on people in the real world. For example someone can simply forget their keys somewhere or forget to put their pants on, something as simple as that. However the consequences can be much more severe, this can lead to someone being fired, hurting their credit score, or possibly being evicted from their home because they did not pay a bill on time.

Another side effect of having a lack of sleep is that a person can literally die.(Kyle para1) It takes about three times longer to die of starvation that of sleep deprivation. Scientists aren’t exactly how lack of sleep can kill a person. A reason for this is because it is unethical to do studies on this subject.
There is serious side effects of sleep deprivation, some include depression, memory loss, impaired judgement, and a possibility of death. It is not just falling asleep that is the problem for some people, the problem is not being able to stay asleep or constantly waking up at night. In short, sleep deprivation should not be taken lightly and every person should get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. If a person has sleep deprivation they should talk to their doctor to help that person sleep better. Every person needs plenty of sleep, which is a fact.

Work Cited
Killgore, William. "Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognition." Www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. 25 Feb. 2011. Web. 24 Mar. 2015.
Kyle, Simon. “How Long Can You Go without Sleep?” Www.sleepio.com. 17 Sept. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2015
Peri, Camille. “What Lack of Sleep Does to Your Mind.” Www.webmd.com. 30 Apr. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2015
Peri, Camille. “10 Things to Hate About Sleep Loss.” Www.webmd.com. 13 Feb. 2014. Web. 24 Mar. 2015
Peters, Brandon. “Can Sleep Deprivation Cause Your Death?” sleepdisorders.about.com. 15 Dec. 2014. 24 Mar. 2015
“Insufficient Sleep Is a Public Health Epidemic.” Www.cdc.gov Center for Disease Control, 13 Jan. 2014. Web. 24 Mar. 2015.