Sleep Deprivation Research Paper
SLEEP DEPRIVATION
Adam Preston
240
6-10-2012
JULIE DELICH
SLEEP DEPRIVATION
As a mid-aged adult with four children, I can count many sleepless nights. Some of the scariest moments have been while driving a long distance. On a trip to Florida I had 3 children along with myself as the only driver. The trip was approximately sixteen hours. The night prior to the trip I went to bed at a decent hour and waking having about nine good hours of sleep. During the trip about twelve hours in, I felt like I needed to stop and rest as I began seeing things, such as black spots or animals running in front of me. I tried to roll the windows down to get some fresh air but it only worked for a moment. I had children in the car who were all resting and the smartest thing for me to do was to pullover as it could be very dangerous driving under those conditions. I pulled over for a few hours and woke to begin …show more content…
There are also many tips to allow ample time to get rested and prepare for bedtime. Often caffeine should be avoided for those with sleep disorders as it can enhance wakefulness. In the case of insomnia sleeping medications are often not used on a regular basis as the patient and doctor must discuss the advantages and the disadvantages of chronic use. Some common treatment in medications is benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines that are used as sleeping pills include Valium and Restoril. Ambien is a drug that is not in the benzodiazepine class, but has a similar effect. Some that can be found over the counter that are similar to Ambien are Nytol and Sominex. They claim to be safe, however one can get used to the effects very quickly which leads to taking more than what is said to take. Those with sleep apnea are required to use a machine during the night to control
Adam Preston
240
6-10-2012
JULIE DELICH
SLEEP DEPRIVATION
As a mid-aged adult with four children, I can count many sleepless nights. Some of the scariest moments have been while driving a long distance. On a trip to Florida I had 3 children along with myself as the only driver. The trip was approximately sixteen hours. The night prior to the trip I went to bed at a decent hour and waking having about nine good hours of sleep. During the trip about twelve hours in, I felt like I needed to stop and rest as I began seeing things, such as black spots or animals running in front of me. I tried to roll the windows down to get some fresh air but it only worked for a moment. I had children in the car who were all resting and the smartest thing for me to do was to pullover as it could be very dangerous driving under those conditions. I pulled over for a few hours and woke to begin …show more content…
There are also many tips to allow ample time to get rested and prepare for bedtime. Often caffeine should be avoided for those with sleep disorders as it can enhance wakefulness. In the case of insomnia sleeping medications are often not used on a regular basis as the patient and doctor must discuss the advantages and the disadvantages of chronic use. Some common treatment in medications is benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines that are used as sleeping pills include Valium and Restoril. Ambien is a drug that is not in the benzodiazepine class, but has a similar effect. Some that can be found over the counter that are similar to Ambien are Nytol and Sominex. They claim to be safe, however one can get used to the effects very quickly which leads to taking more than what is said to take. Those with sleep apnea are required to use a machine during the night to control