In our fast-paced world, who has time for sleep? From work to school, to social life, society is running on an empty tank. Lack of sleep over long periods of time can be extremely unhealthy. Although we tend to know the dangers associated with the lack of sleep, we continue. Insomnia and sleep deprivation are the two leading symptoms of the lack of sleep, and in the U.S. alone, are amongst the highest in the world. Without knowing, many just assume that the two are one in the same, but in truth, they are not, and are actually two different things all together. This is why it is so important to compare the two, and help our society become more aware of the dangers both can cause, by also providing the information one may need to tell the …show more content…
Insomnia is the difficulty or inability to fall asleep and or stay asleep. Studies have found that patients with insomnia do not have anything really distracting them, or keeping them awake. However, they lack the ability to turn their minds off, thus allowing them to fall into a blissful night 's sleep. Insomnia has three different stages. Transient Insomnia, Acute Insomnia, and Chronic Insomnia, ranging from a few days to even years. According to the National Institutes of health, "chronic insomnia are secondary side effects or symptoms of other problems." Sleep deprivation is simply stated as, one not getting the correct amount of sleep they truly need. Deprivation alone means someone or something is preventing themselves or others of sleep. For example, doing an all-nighter for finals is considered one depriving themselves of sleep in hopes to get a passing …show more content…
It is estimated that 50 to 70 million Americans suffer from these disorders or other sleep disorders, with up to 80 to 90% go undiagnosed. Chronic insomnia is not harmful to the body if one is able to stop it. As stated before from National Institutes of Health, insomnia is only secondary, meaning it 's mainly caused by underlying medical conditions. If left untreated, chronic insomnia can transform into sleep deprivation, which could eventually lead to death, if allowed to continue. Sleep deprivation, on the other hand, can and will cause serious medical illnesses. It can affect the nervous system if continued for more than one day and can also eventually lead to death. In further detail, the side effects are separated into days, which worsens each day without sleep. One day of no sleep damages movement and gives one the focus comparable to one having a blood alcohol level of .10%. As one expresses an emotionless face, others take an irritated or sad expression. Long-term potentiation, a part believed as important memory formation, is greatly damaged. Two days of no sleep, causes one 's intake of oxygen to lower and physical power to decrease. Day two may be the start where one would begin to stumble and forget words they were trying to say. With three days of no sleep, it is difficult to concentrate on tasks that are boring, and one finds themselves becoming easily agitated. Heart rate increases, which
Each year at least 40 million Americans suffer from long term, persistent sleep disorders, and an additional 20 million experience occasional sleeping problems. About 60 million Americans a year have insomnia and it tends to increase with age and affects about 40 percent of women and 30 percent of men. It is estimated that 18 million Americas are suffering from sleep apnea, 12 million have RLS, and 250,000 are affected by narcolepsy. Adults typically need between 6 and 10 hours of sleep per 24 hour period, and most people need approximately 8 hours of sleep per day. Infants generally need about 16 hours per day; whereas, teenagers require 9 hours on average. In the first 3 months of...
Having no sleep can lead to unhealthy lives, relationships, one’s ability to function and interact with the world, and an unbalanced state of body, mind, and spirit. Sleep is crucial to an individual because it is a time where the body rests and restores energy and develops important information and without sleep, the body will slowly disintegrate. Poor sleep quality often is associated with Insomnia, but the two are two different items. Poor sleep quality is where an individual does not get at least 4 hours of sleep, but is still able to sleep and does not have a normal sleeping cycle. Insomnia is classified as a sleeping disorder, where one persistently lacks the ability to sleep or maintain sleep. This paper goes into a deep discussion of what Insomnia is and the two different types, the causes of Insomnia and how it affects a person’s lifestyle, a comparison between Men and Women who have Insomnia, and possible treatments to aid this disorder.
Countless individuals deal with insomnia for a large amount of their lives, and some choose differing treatments, while some do not use any treatments at all. While never uncommon, the amount of causes leading to insomnia come in boundlessly; finding new studies and stories every day. Many victims of the disorder may suffer from one of three types of insomnia: transient, short term, and chronic. Exams or fights may trigger transient insomnia and can continue for a handful of days; short-term insomnia proceeds for less than three weeks and chronic insomnia may continue for a month or longer (Epstein). Chronic insomnia may result in long-term problems and may affect performance.
“Habitual sleeplessness; inability to sleep.” That’s what comes up when you look up the definition of insomnia, but sleep insomnia is so much more than that. It’s night after night of staring at the ceiling. It’s uncontrollably passing out at the most random times. Sleep insomnia is the effect of many diseases or even some medications. The question here is, what are the lifelong effects of insomnia, and are specific people more prone to sleep insomnia than others? If so, why?
Sleep is one of our basic needs to survive and to function in day to day operations, but not everyone needs the same amount of sleep. Some people can survive on very little sleep, i.e. five hours a night, and some people need a lot of sleep, to the extend that they are sleeping up to 10 to sometimes 15 hours a night (Nature, 2005). According to Wilson (2005) the general rule states that most people need from seven to eight hours of sleep. The deprivation of sleep in our society in continually increasing with the demands in society increasing work loads, the myth that a few hours of sleep is only necessary to function properly and that sleep is sometimes considered as killing time (Nature, 2005). Sometimes sleep deprivation is also caused by other situations like sleep disorders, i.e. sleep apnea, chronic insomnia or medical conditions such as stress (Wilson, 2005).
To begin, one type of insomnia is called transient insomnia. This is a type of insomnia that can last anywhere from a couple days to a week transient insomnia doesn’t usually last longer than a week. Transient insomnia can be caused by very traumatic major life events or can also be caused by a more miniscule life events. For example a major life event to cause those type of insomnia is a chronic illness. Smaller life events that can cause insomnia may include immense stress about
Many people in the United States, view poor sleep to be an individual's choice instead of an affliction. The number of sleep disorders that are present today is over the top. "Insomnia affects 10 to 15% of the general population and is the most prevalent sleep problem" (Wells, et al 235). With the statistic: 45% of the world’s population is affected by sleep disorders (Noor, et al n.p.). It’s an eye opener to know 15% of the 45% is impaired by Insomni...
“Insomnia is a persistent disorder that can make it hard to fall asleep, hard to stay asleep or both, despite the opportunity for adequate sleep.” (Mayo Clinic Staff) When individuals with insomnia so sleep they wake up feeling unrested and lacking energy. According to Dr. Mark Mahowald, Professor of Neurology at the University of Minnesota Medical School and Director of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center at Hennepin County Medical Center “insomnia refers to the inability to get the amount of sleep ...
The average adult needs at least 8 hours of sleep every night but some adults tend to get between five and six hours. When you lose one or two hours of sleep each night it can affect your health. "The single element that ties sleep disorders together is that they disrupt in one or more parts of out sleep cycle." (Zimbardo). Insomnia’s chronic inability to fall asleep quickly causes frequent arousals while sleeping or causes early morning awakenings. When you don’t get enough sleep it also causes depression and heart disease and in some cases adults tend to suffer from insomnia. If you change up your lifestyle it can help to cure insomnia and when you take the time out of your busy day to relax and unwind it can help you sleep better at night. Other causes of insomnia is exces...
There are also risks involved with not getting enough sleep. Most people will be very sleepy and drowsy during the day, mood and behavioral problems. and even increased vulnerability to drugs and alcohol. These things could also develop into more serious sleep disorders.
Sleep disorders are an underestimated public health concern considering that fifty to seventy million Americans are affected. Technological advances in the field of sleep have facilitated various theories to explain the need for and the purpose of sleep. Scientist have uncovered many types of sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea, and narcolepsy. Sleep disorders affect men ,women, children, the elderly, and the obese in different ways. Factors such as the number of children and the effects of menopause have been studied to determine their effects on sleep. Various treatments have been utilized ranging from non-pharmacologic to pharmacologic methods. Scientist have pinpointed areas of the brain that are involved in sleep deprivation and hormones that ultimately affect sleep.
At first, people's eyes begin to feel dry and they have trouble concentrating, causing their eyesight to weaken. Their reaction time slows down as well as their thinking process and judgment. These effects are minor but as one’s body weakens, their immune system is affected as well. This may cause their body to catch an illness or disease. Afterwards, their body becomes very weak and it will take a while before it can heal properly. In addition, their heart gets tired and cannot perform its job properly, so prolonged sleep deprivation also leads to risk of heart diseases. Not only does sleep loss make people feel tired, but it is also harmful to their body by increasing the risk of health problems (“Sleep Deprivation: What Are the Physical Effects” , Griffin R. Morgan, Mann Jeff, Peri Camille, Pietrengeelo
Lack of sleep affects us many different ways in our daily lives. Think of yourself as a battery, and you’re using all the energy. After you 're done using the energy, you have to charge it. Humans are just like batteries when it comes to sleep. We use all of our energy in the day time doing our daily activities. Like a battery, if you don’t rest or charge yourself up, you’re not going to function very well. It is necessary to have a satisfying amount of sleep. Lack of sleep will affect you in ways such as: mood swings, loss of focus, change in behavior, and difficulties in everyday tasks.
Sleep is a very important factor in the human function. Our body and brain is able to reset itself and rejuvenate while we sleep. When we do not get the required amount of sleep, we start to feel lethargic and foggy minded, because our mind and body wasn’t able to replenish itself. Sleep is imperative that an insignificant rest deficiency or lack of sleep can affect our ability to remember things; decisions and can affect our temperament. Chronic sleep deficiency can get the body to feel agitated and it could lead to serious health problems such as, heart problems, stress, acne, and obesity.
Wells, M., & Vaughn, B. V. (2012). Poor Sleep Challenging the Health of a Nation. Neurodiagnostic Journal,52(3), 233-249.