About one in three adults fail to get enough sleep each night. Sleep deprivation occurs when a person doesn’t get enough hours of sleep. On average most adults need about seven to eight hours of sleep a night. There are many different causes of sleep deprivation, these causes lead to certain effects on a person. There are also many ways to avoid and cope with sleep deprivation. Sleep is needed to “charge” a persons body, especially the brain and without sleep the body will not function correctly.
There are many things that can cause a person to deprive themselves of sleep. There are a few main causes such as too little time, choosing to sleep less and medical conditions. Starting with a persons daily schedule, if an adult doesn’t leave themselves with enough sleep time they will become sleep deprived. To avoid this, one could start by scheduling the day around work hours and other priorities while also leaving enough sleep time. There are also medical problems that can lead to issues with getting enough sleep. A good example of a medical issue would be insomnia. Insomnia is when a person is unable to fall asleep, stay asleep or even experience a sleep that will refresh the body. Many people lead a life of high activity and believe that sleep is not a medical necessity. The National Sleep Foundation states that these people that get less sleep may result in behaviorally induced insufficient sleep syndrome. This means a person is unintentionally getting less sleep than they need. The causes of sleep deprivation can vary from small cases to chronic cases. There are three main causes of sleep deprivation; choosing to not get enough sleep, lack of time for sleep and certain medical conditions.
There are a large range of effects that sleep deprivation can have on a person. These effects can be physical or psychological. The effects can also be minor or very severe depending on the case. The most common effect of sleep deprivation is excessive daytime sleepiness. A person may have a very hard time staying awake and alert after being sleep deprived the night before. “Falling Asleep” explains how this effect can be dangerous if a person is in a workplace that requires alertness or even driving while drowsy. If a person is sleep deprived, he or she may have many performance problems. Some performance issues would include lack of energy, lack of concentration, forgetfulness, lack of coordination and poor decision making. These examples affect a person negatively. A persons mood could also be negatively affected while being sleep deprived. A person may act anxious, have symptoms of depression or lack of motivation. There are many negative effects that are the result of sleep deprivation.
Another effect of sleep deprivation is a concern with health. The National Sleep Foundation explains certain health conditions that can be a risk if a person is sleep deprived such as high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes or even heart attack. The biggest health risk would be suffering from insomnia. The National Sleep Foundation explains the negative effects of insomnia caused by sleep deprivation. The article states the symptoms that occur when a person suffers from chronic insomnia. These symptoms include, “fatigue and lack of energy, impairment of concentration or memory, social dysfunction, or disturbances in mood or motivation.” Health should always be considered when a person is sleep deprived.
Mental illness can be a result of sleep deprivation. In The Daily Californian, Allison Harvey states, “Sleep deprivation is an understudied contributor to the multifactorial cause of mental illness, and it’s also one of the things that fuels them,”. This tells the readers that sleep deprivation can be the reason why certain people suffer from a mental illness. Being sleep deprived can result in many negative effects on a person. The brain is effected when there hasn’t been enough time to sleep and recover.
Suffering from any type of sleep deprivation could have very negative effects on a person and these issues can be avoided by following certain strategies. Getting enough sleep each night is very important so a person must find a way to fit the time in. Caffeine can cause a person to stay awake even at the wrong times. Levels of consumption of caffeine should be reduced if a person is having a hard time sleeping. Another good way to avoid sleep deprivation is to nap and get any extra sleep when there is extra time to do so. This may decrease some of the negative effects when sleep deprivation occurs. If a person suffers from chronic sleep loss, medication could be subscribed to reduce the major effects. This method may only be used to a certain extent. The effects of sleep deprivation can be avoided with many different strategies.
There are many things that cause sleep deprivation. There are also certain ways people are effected by being sleep deprived. Reducing the effects can be done by following strategies to avoid the issues. Sleep deprivation can vary in severity and can be avoided by simply allowing enough time for sleep. Many adults suffer from sleep deprivation everyday but it can be easily avoided.
Work Cited
"National Sleep Foundation." What Is Behaviorally-induced Insufficient Sleep Syndrome? N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.
“Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation” An Unmet Public Health Problems.
April, 2006. Institute of Medicine; Of the National Academies. 05 Oct. 2013.
"Sleep Deprivation." Causes, Effects, & Studies on. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.
"UC Berkeley Study Explores Link between Sleep Deprivation and Mental Health - The Daily Californian." The Daily Californian. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.
Cited: "National Sleep Foundation." What Is Behaviorally-induced Insufficient Sleep Syndrome? N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013. “Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation” An Unmet Public Health Problems. April, 2006. Institute of Medicine; Of the National Academies. 05 Oct. 2013. "Sleep Deprivation." Causes, Effects, & Studies on. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2013. "UC Berkeley Study Explores Link between Sleep Deprivation and Mental Health - The Daily Californian." The Daily Californian. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.
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