The Cause of Sleep Deprivation
Deprivation refers to the lack of time to fulfill a key psychological need. Therefore, sleep deprivation is the condition where an individual lacks the opportunity to fulfill the key psychological need for sleep. Sleep deprivation can either present as acute or chronic. Sleep deprivation can cause fatigue, weight loss, gain, and sleepiness. Sleep deprivation affects cognitive and brain functions. The symptoms of sleep deprivation include yawning, moodiness, irritability, forgetfulness, lack of motivation, low concentration, increased appetite and reduced sex drive. In certain cases, sleep deprivation causes increased energy levels, elevated moods and high energy levels. The long term consequences of sleep deprivation have not been fully researched however it has been used as treatment for depression. Sleep deprivation causes changes in normal functioning and deters the ability to concentrate on environmental sensory input (McEwen & Karatsoreos, 2015 p. 1). Sleep deprivation has caused tragic accidents involving planes, cars, trains and nuclear power plants. Sleep loss in adults and children can be an underlying issue for most undetected sleep disorders or other medical issues.
The causes of sleep deprivation could be environmental, physical or psychological. Some of common environmental causes of sleep deprivation include changes in time zone. A different environment cause over stimulation of the brain therefore causing sleep deprivation. Environmental factors such as noise, temperature, light, electronic device distractions, and bed discomfort play key roles in an individual’s ability to get enough sleep. Studies have revealed that individuals with excessive electronic use habits and television watching habits often experience daytime sleepiness. Environmental noise often contributes to sleep deprivation since they influence sleep-wake behave disturbance and quality of sleep. Traffic noises and neighbor disturbances decreases the intensity of sleep and increases the secretion of stress hormones. Intermittent sounds such as honking and revving cars can cause more disturbance than continuous sounds. Adults that live in urban areas are therefore more sleep deprived than those in rural areas resulting to low moods.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Light is an environmental factor that can affect sleep by making it a challenge to sleep and influencing the timing of the clock consequently affecting preferred sleep time. Light influences sleep through distinct light sensitive cells in the retina of the eyes. The cells are located on the same space as rods and cones that enable vision and determine whether it is day or night. The invention of the electric bulb in the 19 th century meant that individuals are now exposed to more light at night. The light exposure during nighttime might have delayed the internal clock and led to late sleep times. Individuals who move across time zones or work night shift experience insomnia and day sleepiness. Night shift workers often nod off and fall asleep when they are at work.
Pain, anxiety and medical conditions often affects the schedule and distribution of sleep. Pain caused by conditions such as arthritis, back pain or fibromyalgia cause sleep loss. More than 90 million of Americans suffer from different types of pain that roughly costs about $600 billion a year in medical costs and job productivity (Owens & Adolescents Sleep Working Group, 2014). A poll conducted by National Sleep Foundation found out that individuals who suffer from chronic pain lose sleep for about 42 minutes each night while individuals with acute pain loose about 14 minutes of sleep each night. Sleep deprivation and pain are closely linked; experiencing pain cam cause sleep loss but loss of sleep can also cause pain symptoms worse. Pain affects the quantity and quality of sleep; it cause frequent awakenings or impromptu awakenings that make it difficult to fall back asleep. Individuals experiencing acute or chronic pain are more susceptible to stress which is a major cause of sleep loss
Prescription and nonprescription drugs often cause sleep deprivation problems. Prescription medications that are known to cause sleep problems include hormones in oral contraceptives, high blood pressure medication like beta blockers, diet pills, seizure medication, certain antidepressants, steroids, inhaled respiratory drugs and stimulant medications. Drugs such as alcohol often thought as calming affect the quality of sleep. Alcohol induced sleep is often divided and during the second half sleep might be disrupted as the effects of the drug wear off. With regular consumption of alcohol, sleep disruption might increase consequently leading to fatigue and daytime sleepiness. Older individuals are more susceptible to drug-related sleep disorders since they attain higher levels of alcohol in the blood than in younger adults (Whitney et al. 2015 p. 745). Anxiety is a major cause of sleep deprivation or exacerbates existing sleeping conditions. Depression is a major psychological cause of sleep deprivation; one of the key signs of depression is inability to fall or stay asleep. Although sleep deprivation does not cause depression, loss of sleep worsens the condition. Sleep plays a restorative role however when it is disrupted it can lead to tension and irritability.
Effects of Sleep Deprivation
Deprivation of sleep causes an increased appetite, research indicates that acute sleep loss increases pleasure reaction processing in the brain underlying the need to consume food. Researchers indicate that sleep deprivation is a risk factor for obesity. Sleep is influenced by leptin and ghrelin, the two hormones control feelings of hunger. The hormone leptin indicates to the brain that an individuals has had enough to eat; sleep deprivation reduces the levels of leptin and increase the levels of gherlin an appetite stimulant. The inflation of these hormones could explain why most sleep deprived individuals may overeat at night. Sleep loss causes fatigue hence explaining why individuals might be tired to exercise. Sleep deprivation encourages the body to secreate high levels of insulin after eating. Insulin manages blood sugar levels; high insulin enhances fat storage and increases susceptibility to type 2 diabetes. Sleep deprivation causes increased resting blood pressure levels. Researchers have found that sleep loss increases blood pressure. At least half a night of sleep has been reported to increase blood pressure in individuals with hyper-tension. A research published in the European Journal of Preventive Oncology made a link between sleep deprivation and heart attack (McEwen & Keratsoreos, 2015 p. 1).
As mentioned earlier, sleep plays a restorative function therefore lack of sleep leads to impaired memory. Sleep encourages the creation of connections between cells and memory formation (Whitney et al. 2015 p. 745). Sleep is key for healthy cognitive functions however studies suggest that sleep deprivation might cause higher susceptibility for dementia. Individuals who experience sleep deprivation are likely to develop dementia after a three-year follow up than those who do not experience sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation has actually been linked to brain damage. Sleep deprivation makes it harder for individuals to concentrate or learn new things. The signals sent to the brain might be delayed therefore decreasing coordination skills and risks for accidents. Sleep deprivation can trigger mania in individuals with mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder. Mania are episodes characterized by increased levels of energy, hallucinations, paranoia, aggression and impulsive behavior. Sleep deprived individuals often find it challenging to create schedules therefore they have to fall back on habits. Sleep deprivation might therefore cause an individual to repeat actions in the same situation.
Sleep deprivation restores the immune system by producing infection fighting substances such as cytokines. The body utilizes such substances to combat bacteria and viruses. Cytokines also aid in sleep hence providing the immune system with energy to protect the body against diseases. Sleep deprivation stops the immune system from developing its forces. If an individual does not get enough sleep the body might not fight off diseases. Long-term sleep deprivation enhances an individual’s susceptibility to diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Sleep deprivation can detract an individual’s social life by ruining friendship, perceptions and establishing social stress. (Owens & Adolescents Sleep Working Group, 2014). Most individuals prefer to sleep alone unless they are in a romantic relationship. However, some cultures allow communal sleeping to conserve heat or promote bonding. When one partner has had a bad night there is prone to be conflict the next day. Sleep deprived individuals often display less empathy and are less likely to engage in effective conflict resolution. Interaction between individuals happens when one can read emotional facial expressions.
Sleep deprived individuals have difficulty making interactions. Individuals are more likely to make stereotypic and biased assumptions when they have not had enough sleep. Reading emotions of strangers and preventing prejudiced thinking is important to functioning in the workplace therefore not getting enough sleep might affect job performance. The ability to cope with challenging situations depends on how an individual is well rested. It is through the process of emotional regulation that individuals assess feelings and put them in perspective. However the process requires more effort than a sleep deprived individual can handle (McEwen & Keratsoreos, 2015 p. 2) Sleep deprived individuals often have lower stress threshold. Whenever an individual is tired, basic activities such as shopping for groceries, or walking the dog become overwhelming. Sleep deprived individuals are often stressed in basic situations where a well-rested individual would handle easily. Lack of enough sleep can cause moodiness and quick temperedness. Acute sleep deprivation causes stress and leads to anxiety and depression.
Conclusively, sleep deprivation is caused by environmental, psychological and physical factors. Environmental factors such as noise, temperature, light, electronic device distractions, and bed discomfort play key roles in an individual’s ability to get enough sleep. Pain, anxiety and medical conditions often affects the schedule and distribution of sleep. The effects of sleep deprivation include impaired memory, weak immunity, cardiovascular problems, low stress threshold, increased food consumption and weak social relationships. There are certain strategies that can help with sleep deprivation they include lifestyle changes, sleep hygiene, engaging in physical activity, cognitive behavioral therapy and relaxation techniques. It is a known fact that caffeine contributes to sleepiness however alcohol and nicotine have the same effect. Nicotine stimulates the brain and increases the heart rate while alcohol effects wear off fast causing constant awakenings. A lifestyle change might involve giving up such substances or avoiding them at night. Physical activity such as running and aerobics helps individuals improve the quality and quantity of sleep. Sleep hygiene involves maintaining a regular sleep schedule, utilizing the bedroom for sleep only and keeping the bedroom free of electronic devices. Maintaining sleep hygiene might help alleviate sleep deprivation. Meditation is a relaxing technique that can help with sleep loss by preventing stress and anxiety. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps to alter negative thoughts and build confidence therefore helping achieve a good night sleep. Therapy also helps individuals avoid blaming sleep deprivation on personal problems during the day. Some of the common medications used for sleep deprivation include anti-anxiety medication, tricyclic antidepressants, serotonins and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors.
References
McEwen, B. S., & Karatsoreos, I. N. (2015). Sleep deprivation and circadian disruption: stress, allostasis, and allostatic load. Sleep medicine clinics , 10 (1), 1-10.
Owens, J., & Adolescent Sleep Working Group. (2014). insufficient sleep in adolescents and young adults: an update on causes and consequences. Pediatrics , peds-2014.
Whitney, P., Hinson, J. M., Jackson, M. L., & Van Dongen, H. P. (2015). Feedback blunting: total sleep deprivation impairs decision making that requires updating based on feedback. Sleep , 38 (5), 745-754.
