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Sleep Deprivation
Sleep deprivation is generally the
cause of
sleep disorders such as apnea, narcolepsy and
insomnia. Sleep deprivation is a symptom affecting
millions of people around the world and is the lack of
sleep which is crucial for restoration and
rejuvenation.
Contrary to what people think,
insomnia is not defined by the number of hours a
person sleeps. As we get older, we tend to need less
sleep. Babies might need between 10 to 14 hours a
night and children between 9 to 12 hours sleep. Sleep
is important for growth as well as for restoring
muscular energy.
The optimum amount of sleep for most
adults is around 7 to 8 hours a night. Although as I
said it really does differ from person to person, some
people may need as few as 4 hours, or as many as 10
hours of sleep per night.
If you feel refreshed during the day
and not sleepy until bedtime, then obviously you're
getting enough sleep. The amount of sleep required
varies from person to person and depends on a number
possible of factors including, age, genetic make-up,
the amount of exercise you get, what you do during the
day, the quality of your sleep and whether you are
still growing.
5 hours of
deep quality sleep is far
better than 12 hour of broken sleep. It's important to
note that it's the quality of sleep attained at night
and not just the quantity that determines how you feel
the next day. There are various stages of sleep and
it's in the deeper stages that the body is able to
restore.
Lack of sleep generally causes
daytime tiredness, lethargy, aching muscles, blurred
vision, headaches, nausea, irritability and frequent
yawning. Although sleep deprivation is not life
threatening, it can adversely affect brain
functioning. You may find that your ability to
concentrate or carry out tasks more problematic.
You may find that after a good
night's sleep that you feel refreshed and energized.
Sleep enables you to restore and rejuvenate many
functions of the mind and body. Without sleep your
immune system may weaken leaving you susceptible to
illnesses. Sleep is essential for the release of
growth hormones for proper physical and mental
development.
Sleep studies have found that sleep
deprivation can have similar affects to those of
excessive alcohol consumption. Thousands of accidents
a year occur due to falling asleep or loss of
concentration, mainly while driving or operating
dangerous machinery.
Its total cost, in terms of illness,
injuries, and decreased quality of life is staggering.
A constant lack of sleep severely affects quality of
life and can often lead to mental disorders such as
anxiety and depression.
Sleep deprivation affects all ages
including students in high school. In fact, in a
recent study it was revealed that 1 in 4 students
admitted to falling asleep in class. Most schools
start early which prevents students getting enough
sleep. Forced sleep deprivation over a long period can
lead to insomnia.
Fortunately in many school
districts, opening school times have been delayed to
give students more time to sleep.
However this doesn't prevent the fact that people are
working longer hours than ever and with electricity,
the average amount of sleep a night has decreased
dramatically.
With sleep deprivation becoming an
increasingly growing problem and insomnia affecting a
third of all adults, more needs to be done to
counteract this problem. People need to be made aware
of the seriousness of sleep deprivation and more
importantly how to deal with it.
For more information on how to deal with sleep
deprivation and insomnia, sign up for our Free
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