Effects of Sleep Deprivation
Adequate sleep and rest are extremely essential for the good health of people in all ages. Any disorder that keeps you from having a good night’s rest resulting in daytime drowsiness, lack of concentration or inability to attend to work and routines needs to be given due seriousness.
If the sleep deprivation lasts for about a month or so, it should not be ignored as it could lead to heart diseases, hypertension, and stress-related problems.
When we are awake, all our senses and our brain are continuously working, taking in and manipulating information. The brain, without being given enough rest, will lose the ability to function normally and becomes less effective.
The brain will try to counteract the effects of sleep deprivation by working more and as a result, becomes less sharp. This can damage the mental and physical well-being of the individual suffering from prolonged sleep disorder. If the brain is not sharp, the alertness, presence of mind and the speed of responses of an individual are greatly affected.
This in turn keeps the person from having a normal, active life, since he will be unable to make clear, definite decisions on important situations or deal effectively with problems. A dull and sleep-deprived mind also could cause a person to experience hallucinations.
Other effects of sleep deprivation are depression, irritability, slurred speech and tremors
Ageing
As a person grows older, the duration of sleep required reduces, as a grown up does not need as much sleep as a teenager or a child does. However, the likelihood of a sleep disorder also increases with age.
A study reveals that over 50% of people above 65 years of age experience at least one kind of sleep disorder, one reason for this being the hormonal and physical changes that happen as we grow older.
Women in their menopausal phase experience difficulties in maintaining continuous sleep cycles. Another reason for increased sleep deprivation in the elderly is the appearance of other medical conditions.
The most common sleep disorder faced by older people is the inability to get deep sleep, also called restorative sleep. Though they may be able to sleep throughout the night, the kind of sleep they experience would be very light, and hence may feel tired and drowsy during the day, as though they did not sleep at all. This is because they do not get quality sleep during the night that is the most energizing.
Weight Changes
Anothereffect of sleep deprivation is weight change, specifically sudden weight gain. The quality of sleep we get affects the levels of hormones viz., leptin and ghrelin. Leptin and Ghrelin are hormones that are related to feelings of hunger and post-meal satisfaction.
Many processes that are triggered by these hormones are affected by sleep patterns. Sleep deprivation or inability to get deep sleep causes leptin levels to fall and ghrelin levels to rise. As a result, you do not feel satisfied even after a sumptuous meal, and end up eating more, causing you to gain weight.