Sleep deprivation in America has become a bigger problem than most will admit. It is estimated that between fifty and eighty million people are suffering from sleep deprivation at this moment and that most people will experience sleep deprivation sometime in their lives. Of course there are many reasons and at varying levels that people will be affected. But do you know the difference between sleep deprivation and a sleep disorder? One is a result of and the other is the reason for.
In other words you could have insomnia, which is a sleep disorder, and suffer sleep deprivation, which is the result. The reason I make this distinction is because too many people believe that they are suffering from a sleep disorder when they start missing sleep but when you carefully diagnose the problem, it might not be a disorder.
A simple example is: a dog is barking outside your window at night keeping you awake. After a few nights of this, you are experiencing sleep deprivation. Stop the dog from barking and you solve your problem. Unlike a sleep disorder, which could result from a psychological or physical issue in your life, sleep deprivation is the result.
Unfortunately a major problem today is too many people go undiagnosed and will not get the necessary treatment for their problem. So it is important to recognize what is causing you to have sleep deprivation in order to seek the correct treatment. Sleep deprivation can turn into a disorder, like insomnia, if you don't get help. It can start as a mild case where you lose sleep for a few nights to a severe case where you are losing sleep for weeks or even months. So it is imperative that you examine what's going on in your life to seek the cause.
Are you going through a stressful time and are doing a lot of worrying? Most people who are experiencing a stressful time in their life lose sleep because they lie awake all night thinking of their problems and their minds become their worst enemy.
Could it be something deeper that you can't easily recognize? You should always seek a doctor's help for both identifying your issue and remedies to take care of it. Sometimes it's as easy as taking some sleep medication for a short period of time to get you back into a natural sleep cycle. The main point is to identify the underlying cause and then seek alternatives that can help.
I have to tell straight up, you are very mistaken. Sleep deprivation is so dangerous that it can even kill you. It isn't a waste of time to sleep it is simply a fact of life. We must sleep.
Research shows that there are many problems associated with chronic sleep deprivation. That is sleep deprivation that has built up over several weeks or months. Here are some of them:
- Lack of sleep reduces your life span. Long term studies show that death from all causes is highest amongst adults who get less than 7 hours sleep a night.
-Your immune system takes a battering when you are sleep deprived. Subjects allowed only 4 hours sleep for a six night period were infected with flu virus. Their immune system produced half the number of white cells it normally would in response to this attack.
Reduced by half! That's very scary isn't it? Your immune response is what keeps you alive when bugs attack your body, which is every day of your life. The same study also showed these affects from sleep deprivation:
a) Heart rate and blood pressure were raised.
b) Insulin resistance, a condition that produces obesity and warns of diabetes being not far behind.
c) The hormone Leptin was reduced. This causes an increase in appetite and often results in weight gain.
-Intellectual performance is reduced. Critical thinking plummets, so don't stay up all night cramming for an exam.
-Reaction time is reduced. You may think you are just as sharp as ever but so does the drunk driver. Its impossible to know how many accidents have been caused by sleep deprivation. Don't add to them.
As you are aware of it you will notice how many reports on serious accidents mention fatigue, often along with alcohol. The one we all remember is the Exon Valdize but plane and road traffic accidents are frequently put down to sleep deprivation.
While most would not drive when drunk the idea of driving when tired does not set off the same alarm bells, but it should. The mixture of tiredness plus alcohol adds to the risk.
Do you think that you should try to get enough sleep now? No matter how busy your day its vital to make time for sleep too. Your performance will improve and so will your health. Wit fewer sick days and less exhaustion you will easily make up for the time you "lose" by sleeping.
If you aren't getting to sleep because you have insomnia please take action to cure your sleeping problem. Insomnia must be taken seriously and a cure pursued. You should learn how to relax and follow basic sleep hygiene.
Both Ronald.eapen & Liz Beresford are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.