Sleep deprivation

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Sleep deprivation seems to be an increasing problem with people of all different age groups. It is related to many different health concerns. Nearly fifty percent of adults fail to get enough sleep. According to the national sleep foundation, teenagers need at least 9 hours of sleep a night, but 80% get a lot less than that. Due to the lack of sleep at least 28% of high schoolers fall asleep in class, 22% fall asleep while doing their homework and 14% arrive late or miss school entirely because they oversleep. Based on the article It is obvious that school age children need a lot more sleep than they are getting. As sleep continues to depreciate students have a harder time concentrating. Feelings of depression, also starts due to sleep restriction.

Due to partial overnight sleep deprivation improving the mood of 50% of depressed patients, that would usually take days or weeks to see mood improvement.(1) The Canadian Medical Association was approved by the Capital District Health Authority Research Ethics Board to study and compare the neurochemical changes in healthy and depressed participants who had partially overnight sleep deprivation. Within a day overnight sleep deprivation can produce antidepressant feelings in some patients. (1) The study asked its participants to keep their regular sleep habits for the week prior to the study. The procedure was to scan two brain regions, which was left dorsal prefrontal area and the Pons. (1)

The scans took place at baseline and 24hrs later after a night without sleep to a maximum of 2.5hrs. The study consisted of 12 women with unipolar depression and 15 healthy women using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy acquired at 1.5T. (1) They assessed 3 neurochemical signals(referen...

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...k room, a symptom of chronic sleep loss. Another group , who for a period of time, went to bed 60-90 minutes earlier than their regular bedtime. These students felt like they had more energy, and felt more awake. They performed significantly better on test of Psychological and mental acuity(4).

The effects of 43 hours of sleep deprivation on executive control functions: event- related potentials in a visual go/no go task.

Procedure

40 participants were assigned to either a TSD or a control group(no sleep deprivation; for TSD group). Electroencephalogram(EEG) recording were taken using 32 electrodes while a GO/No go task was administered. The amplitudes of the NO go-N2 and the no go P3 were smaller in tsd grouping terms of prolonged latencies.

Conclusion

Results shown that executive control functions were recognized as being impaired after 43 hours of TSD.

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