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TOPIC:

SLEEP DEPRIVATION AND ITS EFFECTS

 NTRODUCTION

A person’s quality of life can be disrupted due to many different reasons. One important yet

underestimated cause for that is sleep loss .Working hours are constantly increasing along with

an emphasis on active leisure. In certain jobs, people face sleep restriction. Some professions

such as health care, security and transportation require working at night. In such fields, the

effect of acute total sleep deprivation (SD) on performance is crucial. Furthermore, people

tend to stretch their capacity and compromise their nightly sleep, thus becoming chronically

sleep deprived.

When considering the effects of sleep loss, the distinction between total and partial SD is

important. Although both conditions induce several negative effects including impairments in

cognitive performance, the underlying mechanisms seem to be somewhat different.

Particularly, results on the recovery from SD have suggested different physiological processes.

In this review, it is separately considered the effects of acute total and chronic partial SD and

describe the effects on cognitive performance. The emphasis on acute total SD reflects the

quantity of studies carried out compared with partial SD. The effects of aging and gender, as

well as interindividual differences are discussed.

Sleep deprivation

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As all of us might know that sleeping for us is as important as it is too work hard to get noticed.
The energy to work consistently and provide the desired result is only received, when you
sleep for adequate hours, as it is the time when every system present in your body relaxes.
However, if you reduce your sleeping hours for working late, there is no doubt that you will
feel the difference soon. With every passing day of less sleep, you will get closer to the state of
sleep deprivation. Now, what is sleep deprivation?

Sleep deprivation is a sleeping problem, where you do not allow your body to receive apt
relaxation and in turn, body replies back by underperforming in almost each one of its system.
As a result, you would find yourself prone to a lot of different diseases and problems, which
can accumulate to something serious, if not looked into at an early stage.

Importance of sleep

Sleep is defined as a state of unconsciousness from which a person can be aroused. When you
are sleeping the brain is relatively more responsive to internal stimuli than external stimuli.
There are many reasons why our bodies need sleep; it is quite essential for the normal, healthy
functioning of the human body. Sleep is now known to be a dynamic process, and studies
found that our brains are active during sleep. Sleep affects our physical and mental health, and
is essential for the normal functioning of all the systems of our Human body, including the
immune system. So, the effect of sleep on the immune system affects one’s ability to fight
disease and endure sickness.

Sleep is our bodies’ way of rejuvenating as it is the period in which we lower the energy levels
expelled each day, our muscles and soft tissue are repaired and revitalized, and our mind is
able to process memories and things we have learned for the day. Although one day of sleep
deprivation is not fatal, it will indeed cause alterations in mood, physical well being, and
overall cognitive function.

Sleep is essential for a person’s health and wellbeing, according to the National Sleep
Foundation (NSF). Yet millions of people do not get enough sleep and many suffer from lack of
sleep. For example, surveys conducted by the NSF (1999-2004) reveal that at least 40 million
Americans suffer from over 70 different sleep disorders and 60 percent of adults report having
sleep problems a few nights a week or more. Most of those with these problems go
undiagnosed and untreated. In addition, more than 40 percent of adults experience daytime
sleepiness severe enough to interfere with their daily activities at least a few days each month

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- with 20 percent reporting problem sleepiness a few days a week or more. Furthermore, 69
percent of children experience one or more sleep problems a few nights or more during a
week.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DO NOT SLEEP?

When a person is unable to get the right quantity of sleep, he may feel tired and sleepy
throughout the day. Memory losses and learning disabilities also accompany sleep deprivation.
Sleep is a biological necessity for all human beings and the requirement of it varies from one
person to the other. Sleep deprivation is not just responsible for decreased work performance
or poor school grades; it can also have a very negative impact on the way we think and
function. Sleep deprivation can create havoc in intimate relationships. They can change the
quality of our lives, considerably. Such is the impact of sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation
problems are increasing as we are getting busy in our lives to the extent of neglecting our
health and ignoring the basic demands of one's anatomy. People, who are unable to find time
off the work during day, use the sleep hours for recreation. The body can take such abuses for
a day or two but once the limit is reached, it retaliates back with symptoms of chronic sleep
deprivation.

The current world record for the longest period without

sleeping is 11 days set by Randy Gardner in 1965.after four
days without sleeping, he began hallucinating and then, he
had delusions where he thought he was a famous football
player. However, after sleeping for some hours, he was
functioning quite well.

Studies involving memory tests show that after a single night

of sleep, or even a nap, people perform better, whether on a test, in the office, on the athletic
field, or in a concert hall.

Consequences of sleep deprivation are many fold. They can be as simple as drowsiness and can
be as dangerous as sleep paralysis or even a heart stroke. People with sleep disorders are
more prone to high blood pressure, depression, diabetes and many such diseases. Some of the
obvious consequences of sleep disorders are discussed below.

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1. Stress and anxiety: people can get anxious about anything. One may be anxious about a
planned trip or the visit of a relative...there's no end to it. Often women are more prone to
stress and anxiety. Hence, they are generally more susceptible to insomnia sleep disorder.
Stress and anxiety can be controlled by suing techniques such as meditation and positive
thinking.

2. Anger, Irritability and Depression: lack of proper sleep can cause understanding problems.
Some people may be so worried about not being able to sleep that they can fall trap to
depression. Constant drowsiness and need to sleep can lead to frustration and irritability.

3. Lack of focus and difficulty in concentrating: sleep deprivation for an even a few nights can
cause problems of memory loss and concentration. Since sleep directly affects well being of
our central nervous system, lack of it can cause imbalance in the brain activities. Sleep
disorders in children can affect their ability to concentrate in the class and focus on their
studies.

4. Impaired ability to drive a motor vehicle: there are many road and on-the-job accidents that
occur because the people handling vehicle or machinery fall asleep in strange places and at
strange times. Fear to falling asleep is the reason why sometimes parents teach their minor
kids to handle the vehicle, all the way more dangerous. A good night sleep ensures that you
are fresh in the morning to take up your responsibilities.

5. Suppression of the immune system: sleep is necessary to rejuvenate and revitalize our
body. As discussed earlier, good night sleep helps the body function properly. It is like
recharging your batteries for the next day's performance. Sleep boosts the immune system
and helps it in fighting diseases. Lack of proper sleep has consequences otherwise. The
following picture shows some of the main health effects of sleep deprivation.

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Sleep is essential to life. Laboratory animals deprived of sleep die. And humans don't seem to
be immune to the life-threatening effects of sleeplessness. A survey conducted by the
American Cancer Society concluded that people who sleep 6 hours or less per night, or who
sleep 9 hours or more, had a death rate 30 percent higher than those who regularly slept 7 to
8 hours. Even those who slept 6 hours or less who otherwise had no health problems had
death rates 1.8 times higher than those who slept "normal" hours.

How Much Sleep Do We Need?

The amount of sleep each person needs

depends on many factors, including age.
Infants generally require about 16 hours a
day, while teenagers need about 9 hours on
average. For most adults, 7 to 8 hours a night
appears to be the best amount of sleep,
although some people may need as few as 5
hours or as many as 10 hours of sleep each
day. Women in the first 3 months of pregnancy often need several more hours of sleep than
usual. The amount of sleep a person needs also increases if he or she has been deprived of
sleep in previous days. Getting too little sleep creates a "sleep debt," which is much like being
overdrawn at a bank. Eventually, your body will demand that the debt be repaid. We don't
seem to adapt to getting less sleep than we need; while we may get used to a sleep-depriving
schedule, our judgment, reaction time, and other functions are still impaired.

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People tend to sleep more lightly and for shorter time spans as they get older, although they
generally need about the same amount of sleep as they needed in early adulthood. About half
of all people over 65 have frequent sleeping problems, such as insomnia, and deep sleep
stages in many elderly people often become very short or stop completely. This change may be
a normal part of aging, or it may result from medical problems that are common in elderly
people and from the medications and other treatments for those problems.

Experts say that if you feel drowsy during the day, even during boring activities, you haven't
had enough sleep. If you routinely fall asleep within 5 minutes of lying down, you probably
have severe sleep deprivation, possibly even a sleep disorder. Microsleep, or very brief
episodes of sleep in an otherwise awake person, is another mark of sleep deprivation. In many
cases, people are not aware that they are experiencing microsleeps. The widespread practice
of "burning the candle at both ends" in western industrialized societies has created so much
sleep deprivation that what is really abnormal sleepiness is now almost the norm.

Many studies make it clear that sleep deprivation is dangerous. Sleep-deprived people who are
tested by using a driving simulator or by performing a hand-eye coordination task perform as
badly as or worse than those who are intoxicated. Sleep deprivation also magnifies alcohol's
effects on the body, so a fatigued person who drinks will become much more impaired than
someone who is well-rested. Driver fatigue is responsible for an estimated 100,000 motor
vehicle accidents and 1500 deaths each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. Since drowsiness is the brain's last step before falling asleep, driving while
drowsy can – and often does – lead to disaster. Caffeine and other stimulants cannot
overcome the effects of severe sleep deprivation. The National Sleep Foundation says that if
you have trouble keeping your eyes focused, if you can't stop yawning, or if you can't
remember driving the last few miles, you are probably too drowsy to drive safely.

There are different types of memories. Some are fact-based, such as remembering the name of
state capitals. Some are episodic -- based on events in your life, such as your first kiss. And
some memories are procedural or instructional, such as how to ride a bike or play the piano.

For something to become a memory, three functions must occur, including:

Acquisition -- learning or experiencing something new.

Consolidation -- the memory becomes stable in the brain.

Recall -- having the ability to access the memory in the future.

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Both acquisition and recall are functions that take place when you are awake. However,
researchers believe sleep is required for consolidation of a memory, no matter the memory
type. Without adequate sleep, your brain has a harder time absorbing and recalling new
information. Sleep does more than help sharpen the mind. Studies show that sleep affects
physical reflexes, fine motor skills, and judgment, too. One study showed that participants who
were sleep deprived were more likely to think they were right when they were, in fact, wrong.

SLEEP DEBT CAN BE DANGEROUS

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates conservatively that, during an
average year, “drowsy driving” causes 100,000 automobile wrecks, 71,000 injuries and 1,550
fatalities. The U.S. Department of Transportation reports that 20% of all drivers have dozed off
at least once behind the wheel. Drowsy driving accidents are often more serious than other
wrecks because they often occur on high speed highways (because the driver is maintaining
the same speed for a long period of time), there is no attempt to avoid the crash since the
driver’s eyes are closed and the driver is usually alone with no one to alert him or her. Adding
to these alarming statistics is the fact that long-haul truck drivers tend to sleep only two to
four hours per night.

In addition to truck drivers, other adults who are especially vulnerable to sleep deprivation are
shift workers. An alarming increase in the frequency of accidents is seen during the graveyard
shift. Notable incidents that have been due in part to sleep deprivation have included the
Exxon Valdez oil spill and Three Mile Island. Shift workers are also in the top three populations
at the highest risk for drowsy driving automobile accidents.

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 CONCLUSION

The negative effect of both acute total and chronic partial sleep deprivation(SD) on attention

and working memory is supported by existing literature. Total SD impairs a range of other

cognitive functions as well. In partial SD, a more thorough evaluation of higher cognitive

functions is needed. Furthermore, the effects of SD have not been thoroughly compared

among some essential subpopulations.

Aging influences a person’s ability to cope with SD. Although in general the cognitive

performance of aging people is often poorer than that of younger individuals, during SD

performance in older subjects seems to deteriorate less. Based on the scarce evidence, it

seems that in terms of cognitive performance, women may endure prolonged wakefulness

better than men, whereas physiologically they recover slower. Tolerating SD can also depend

on individual traits. However, mechanisms inducing differences between the young and aging

and between men and women or different individuals are mostly unclear. Several reasons such

as physiological mechanisms as well as social or environmental factors may be involved. In

conclusion, there is great variation in SD studies in terms of both subject selections and

methods, and this makes it difficult to compare the different studies. In the future,

methodological issues should be considered more thoroughly.

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 GLOSARY

microsleep is an episode of sleep which may last for a fraction of a second or up to thirty
seconds. Often, it is the result of sleep deprivation, mental fatigue, depression, sleep apnea,
hypoxia, narcolepsy, or hypersomnia. For the sleep-deprived, microsleeping can occur at any
time, typically without substantial warning.

bruxism : teeth grinding or jaw clenching during sleep

Sleep apnea: condition where the sleeper repeatedly stops breathing for 10 or more seconds
during sleep.

Sleep debt: physiological state that results from recurrent sleep deprivation occurs over time.
When an individual does not experience sufficient restorative daily sleep required to maintain
a sense of feeling rested and refreshed.

Brain Waves: fluctuations of electrical activity that can be measured by electrodes.

Biological clock: A cluster of cells in your brain stem that regulate your 24 hour clock. It uses
light cues from your eyes to signal your body to awake or to go to sleep.

NREM: Non Rapid Eye Movement. Occurs during Stages 1 to Stage 4 of a person’s sleep cycle
when they are not dreaming.

Parasomnia: Refers to a group of arousal sleep disorders such as sleepwalking, night terrors or
bedwetting that often occur during later Stage 3 and Stage 4 sleep.

REM: Rapid Eye Movement. Refers to the movement of the eye back and forth under the
eyelids like they are watching a movie. Dreaming often occurs during REM sleep. The brain is
almost as active as when the person is awake but the muscles are relaxed.

Serotonin: A chemical of your brain that regulates sleep, mood, memory and emotions.

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Sleep Cycle: The 90-100 minute period of NREM and REM sleep a person experiences several
times each night.

Sleep debt: An imbalance of sleep time caused by a period of sleep deprivation

Snoring: A noise a sleeper makes when the soft palate at the back of their throat vibrates with
their breathing. Excessive snoring may be a symptom of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Snoring

Dementia: A loss of cognitive ability and memory that can often cause sleep problems.

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