Sleep Deprivation in America

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Sleep Deprivation in America

Research indicates that America’s sleep problems have increased and might be the number one health problem. The average amount of sleep that people get per night can range anywhere from three to twelve hours. According to Dr. David Dinges at the University of Pennsylvania, it is a fact that people who get fewer than six hours of sleep a night do not live as long as people who get seven hours or more. Most people do not realize the importance of sleep or even realize that it is needed to survive. Many people experience sleep deprivation; however it is commonly seen in college students. Irregular sleeping patterns tend to occur in students, which can later lead to long-term effects.

Sleep deprivation can affect the normal and regular sleep patterns and cycles of many people. According to Lacks, “Normal adults gradually move through a sequence of regularly alternating stages of sleep” (17). Adults experience these different stages because of their own distinct patterns and behavioral activity. Sleep is divided into two categories non-rapid-eye-movement and rapid-eye-movement (Lacks 17). These stages of sleep range from the lightest sleep to the deepest sleep. This cycle is repeated over and over again while sleeping. These sleep stages are necessary to regulate the different states of wakefulness and sleep. According to Williams, “Insomnia or difficulty in initiating or maintaining sleep is almost part of everyone’s life” (29). Insomnia is a result of sleep deprivation, which can lead to further effects such as stress and aging. Regular sleeping patterns can drastically change for someone who is experiencing sleep deprivation.

Circadian rhyt...

... middle of paper ...

... exposed to and the only way for a student to avoid it is to find an individual way to motivate him or herself.

Works Cited

Bethesda MD: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Understanding Sleep. National Institutes of Health, 1998

Giannotti, Flavia. “Circadian Preference, Sleep and Daytime Behavior in Adolescence.” European Sleep Research Society (May 2002): 191-199.

Lacks, Patricia. Behavioral Treatment for Persistent Insomnia. New York: Permagon Press, 1987.

Urban, Christopher. “Sleep Deprivation Not Unusual For College Students.” The Tech .Write 3 Jun 1991.: 5. 23 Oct 2002 .

Williams, Robert L. M.D., Ismet Karacan, and Constance Moore, Sleep Disorders: Diagnosis and Treatment. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1988.

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