Sleep Deprivation Makes Life Tougher By Andrea Peterson

Lack of sleep can affect the ability to function in academic environments by impairing the ability to learn, listen, and solve problems. Insufficient amounts of sleep have been linked to depression, suicide, and risk-tasking behaviors. "During sleep, important body functions and brain activity occur. Skipping sleep can be harmful or even deadly, especially if you are behind the wheel. You can look bad, you may feel moody, and you perform poorly. Sleepiness can make it hard to get along with your family and friends and hurt your scores on school exams, on the court or on the field." (Teens and Sleep 1) During sleep the body repairs muscles and tendons, releases hormones to regulate growth and appetite, restores energy, and contributes to a healthy immune system. Sleep is linked with the repair of the heart and blood vessels and sleep deficiency after long periods of time can be linked to an increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke. Not getting enough sleep can affect an individuals mood, energy, health, and even their ability to handle stress. Studies show that not getting the recommended amount of sleep can be linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other health problems. If today's teenagers and adults that sleep less than seven hours a night aren't getting enough sleep, then

On average, an adult should receive at least seven to eight hours of sleep each night to function effectively. Sleep deprivation is caused in many different ways. As reported by Gallup Polls, about 14% of Americans receive 5 hours or less of sleep per night. Many of today’s college students suffer from sleep deprivation. The balancing of classes, extracurricular activities, work, and homework take away from the hours needed to receive sufficient rest. This is called voluntary sleep deprivation, which is when one has the ability to decide whether to rest or continue in what they are doing. These decisions cause one to suffer from many different

Sleep is crucial for the stability of one’s mind, body, and temper. When an individual enters a sleep deprivation they tend to have exhaustion, irritability, and an inability to focus that can only be remedied by several nights of healthy sleep. The healthy

Not enough sleep correlates directly with the quality of work students offer in the classroom as well. Conditions due to lack of sleep include: concentration difficulties, mentally ‘drifting off’ in class, shortened attention span, memory impairment, poor decision making, lack of enthusiasm, moodiness and aggression, risk-taking behavior, slower physical reflexes, and reduced sporting and academic performance (“Teenagers”). To many, this is a very eye opening list and further proves that students not obtaining enough sleep at night should not be taken light heartedly. Imagine the improvement a single hour of sleep would lead to for our school systems and specifically our students. If teenagers could focus more, remember better and not come across as edgy then school days would go smoother, grades would be higher and the hallways would be way more peaceful. All of which would contribute to a much nicer and enjoyable high school experience.

Sleep is essential to life, as it can affect how we look, feel and perform on a daily basis. Sleep deprivation can have a major impact on our overall quality of life. On average, we spend a third of our life asleep. Sleep regenerates our brains and bodies, and without it we cannot function effectively. During sleep the body undergoes several physiological and psychological processes; processing information, learning and consolidating memories. New knowledge about the importance of sleep, the health consequences of chronic sleep deprivation, and sleep disorders has suffered in recent years. Chronic sleep loss and untreated sleep disorders have a profound and diverse impact on health, behavior, and quality of life (Robotham, 2011).

Through the analysis of psychological studies, I suggest to those who struggle with sleep deprivation to attempt to gain more sleep. The studies the way sleep affects our behaviors, moods, and cognitive abilities. With the help of psychology, individuals gain a better awareness for the ways sleep deprivation affects the

Sleep is a behavior universal to all people, yet it remains largely a mystery. Chronic sleep deprivation has become rampant throughout western society, for a number of reasons. The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of sleep deprivation, with major objectives being to identify what sleep is, and the reasons for sleep. An emphasis is also placed on the effect, symptoms, causes and ways to combat sleep deprivation. These areas are of particular interest to those seeking to investigate sleep deprivation, or individuals who suffer from sleep deprivation by investigating the symptoms, causes and strategies to combat sleep deprivation.

Many students are affected by sleep deprivation as people persist through their tightly packed schedules. There is a common misconception regarding what sleep deprivation is. Sleep deprivation is the condition of not having enough sleep. Many students do not sleep the recommended number of hours they should be receiving. According to Harvard University’s Division of Sleep Medicine, “only 11 percent of American college students sleep well, and 40 percent of students feel well rested only two days per week” (Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine). This study shows how the majority of American college students are essentially sleep deprived, and are being affected by the negative effects of sleep deprivation.

When a person does not get an adequate amount of sleep during the night, it can affect the brain and cognitive function. This is called sleep deprivation. Research says that a third of Americans

Lack of sleep causes major changes in physiology and brain function, and can even change brain tissue (Luce 94). A man once went through multiple days of no sleep to figure out the exact effects. After 160 hours of no sleep, the man would forget what he did moments before. He would become distracted by small noises, and he could not perform simple tasks without a lot of struggling (Kastner 93). “At 220 hours, Michaels could barely talk and had to be held up when he walked.”...“After fourteen hours of sleep, he awoke refreshed and feeling normal” (Kastner 93).The predictable course of deterioration that follows when an individual stops sleeping, shows the exceptional importance of sleep.

Sleep deprivation consumes people all over the world on a regular basis. But what causes sleep deprivation? What are the consequences of being sleep deprived? And how can the poor tormented sleepy people all over the world get a good night’s rest? Let’s explore the exhausted world of sleep deprivation.

Sleep is as essential to the human body as food and water are, but sometimes sleep quality and quantity is inadequate, which is known as sleep deprivation. Sleep deprived people are sleepy and fatigued, making them prone to causing accidents, impairing their judgement, and they are more likely to make mistakes and bad decisions. Not sleeping for 24 hours reduces hand-to-eye coordination, which can be compared to having a blood alcohol content of 0.1 and contributes to road accidents and work injuries. A child’s school performance is negatively affected by the lack of sleep and may cause emotional problems such as depression. Sleep deprived adults suffer from lack concentration, irritability, sleep inertia and a grogginess that lasts all day long as they are constantly yawning and dozing off. 1 All these problems come from not obtaining an adequate amount of sleep hours. There are methods and medications that can help prevent sleep deprivation as well as methods and techniques that utilize sleep deprivation as a tool.

The focus of this paper is sleep deprivation. Concepts necessary to understanding sleep and sleep deprivation are sleep-control mechanisms, stages of sleep, and the different types of sleep deprivation.

Along with the sleep deprivation most often exhibit behavior that is unusual for them when they’re running of the correct amount of sleep. Lack of sleep proves to show difficulty in students they often act out and do not pay attention in class. Chronically sleep-deprived students exhibit poor impulse control that will lead to bad decision making on the teen's behalf. Sleep deprivation also associates itself with the increased risk of disorders like attention

Jonathan “Johnny” Espinoza Flores, a seventeen year-old current high school senior from California, recalls his experience with sleep deprivation saying that he seemed to “fumble” throughout his day “aside from the desire to fall asleep.” Mood swings are likely to occur, as is driving into traffic during rush hour. In Jonathan's case he states that he was easily upset and just wanted to be left alone. In addition, he says that he had “no motivation to work.”