The Negative Effects Of Sleep Deprivation

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Introduction Sleep is as important to the human body as food and water, but many of us don’t get enough sleep. Insufficient sleep, inadequate quality of sleep or disruptions to the sleep-wake cycle ,such as those that occur with shift work or travelling to a different time zone, have consequences for how we function in the daytime, causing sleepiness and fatigue. Sleep deprivation is pretty common these days, it’s a major attribute of achievement-oriented societies, specially students and workers. Lack of sleep is always associated with its negative effects, according to Seyam, having not enough sleep may cause irritability, cognitive impairment, memory lapses, restricted judgement, severe yawning, increased heart-rate variability, increased…show more content…
Staying awake for 24 hours leads to a reduced hand-to-eye coordination that is similar to having a blood alcohol content of 0.1 and can also make people cranky and moody. According to a new research from the University of California, Berkeley a lesser known side effect of sleep deprivation is short-term euphoria, which can potentially lead to poor judgment and addictive behavior (Anwar, 2011).The only sure way for an individual to overcome sleep deprivation is to increase nightly sleep time to satisfy his or her biological sleep need; there is no substitute for sufficient…show more content…
Since studies consistently show the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation on performance and alertness, sleep scientists often advise against a person’s becoming sleep deprived. However, one technique of severe sleep restriction called polyphaisic sleep appears to maintain one’s level of performance and alertness. Some people naturally undergo periods of polyphaisic sleep, during this time they noted that productivity and creativity increase. Despite the sleep restriction they get every night, some famous personalities had great creativity and/or productivity after the deprivation like artists Leonardo Da Vinci who reportedly slept for 15 minutes every 4 hours and Michaelangelo who sleep only 4 hours every night; inventor Thomas Edison who slept 3 to 4 hours per night; and politician Winston Churchill who had periods throughout his life in which he would sleep 6 hours at night and take a short nap during the day (Famous four hour sleepers,

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