Sleep Deprivation

Sleep deprivation is generally the cause of sleep disorders such as apnea, narcolepsy and insomnia. Sleep deprivation is a symptom affecting millions of people around the world and is the lack of sleep which is crucial for restoration and rejuvenation.

Contrary to what people think, insomnia is not defined by the number of hours a person sleeps. As we get older, we tend to need less sleep. Babies might need between 10 to 14 hours a night and children between 9 to 12 hours sleep. Sleep is important for growth as well as for restoring muscular energy.

The optimum amount of sleep for most adults is around 7 to 8 hours a night. Although as I said it really does differ from person to person, some people may need as few as 4 hours, or as many as 10 hours of sleep per night.

If you feel refreshed during the day and not sleepy until bedtime, then obviously you're getting enough sleep. The amount of sleep required varies from person to person and depends on a number possible of factors including, age, genetic make-up, the amount of exercise you get, what you do during the day, the quality of your sleep and whether you are still growing.

5 hours of deep quality sleep is far better than 12 hour of broken sleep. It's important to note that it's the quality of sleep attained at night and not just the quantity that determines how you feel the next day. There are various stages of sleep and it's in the deeper stages that the body is able to restore.

Lack of sleep generally causes daytime tiredness, lethargy, aching muscles, blurred vision, headaches, nausea, irritability and frequent yawning. Although sleep deprivation is not life threatening, it can adversely affect brain functioning. You may find that your ability to concentrate or carry out tasks more problematic.

You may find that after a good night's sleep that you feel refreshed and energized. Sleep enables you to restore and rejuvenate many functions of the mind and body. Without sleep your immune system may weaken leaving you susceptible to illnesses. Sleep is essential for the release of growth hormones for proper physical and mental development.

Sleep studies have found that sleep deprivation can have similar affects to those of excessive alcohol consumption. Thousands of accidents a year occur due to falling asleep or loss of concentration, mainly while driving or operating dangerous machinery. Its total cost, in terms of illness, injuries, and decreased quality of life is staggering. A constant lack of sleep severely affects quality of life and can often lead to mental disorders such as anxiety and depression.

Sleep deprivation affects all ages including students in high school. In fact, in a recent study it was revealed that 1 in 4 students admitted to falling asleep in class. Most schools start early which prevents students getting enough sleep. Forced sleep deprivation over a long period can lead to insomnia. Fortunately in many school districts, opening school times have been delayed to give students more time to sleep.

However this doesn't prevent the fact that people are working longer hours than ever and with electricity, the average amount of sleep a night has decreased dramatically.

With sleep deprivation becoming an increasingly growing problem and insomnia affecting a third of all adults, more needs to be done to counteract this problem. People need to be made aware of the seriousness of sleep deprivation and more importantly how to deal with it.