Sleep Deprivation and Daily Life: A Dangerous Mix

Your mind is slow, your body is unresponsive and lethargic; you have a hard time maintaining a complete train of thought. Your motor skills are at best weakened and your motivation is non-existent. Your eyelids feel as if there are sandbags tied to your eyelashes; there is nothing you would rather do than just close your eyes and fall asleep. In fact, the mere thought of sleep causes you to close your eyes and slowly drift away to that restful place. . .

But then you hear something; a rumbling noise in an otherwise quiet and empty house. Your eyes snap open, and you see lights and movement. But then you realize that you're not at home; you're behind the wheel of your car. As you frantically work to correct your steering and pull along the shoulder to collect your wits, you screech to a halt and realize that the rumble strips probably saved your life.

This time you were lucky. Nobody was hurt, and your car is still in one piece. You might not be so lucky next time.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders, most adults function best when receiving 7-8 hours of sleep; though that number is considered an average. Infants typically need around 16 hours of sleep while teenagers require about 9 hours. However, there are many factors that affect the amount of sleep that a person needs.

The amount of sleep that is needed for an individual is not only dependent on the person's age; but also their biological makeup and also if they are experiencing what is commonly referred to as "sleep debt". Sleep debt can be likened to writing a check for an amount greater than you have available in your bank account. Like an overdraft fee, "sleep debt" must eventually be "paid" by making up for the lost sleep.

Sometimes, when the sleep deprivation is severe enough, an individual may lose conciseness for a few seconds or more, regardless of what the individual is doing. These lapses of consciousness are called "microsleeps", where the brain actually enters a sleep stage due to sleep deprivation. Not only can this be embarrassing in a social or work setting; it can be dangerous or even deadly when an individual is behind the wheel.

The consequences of sleep deprivation are understated, according to Psychiatric Times. In fact, they state that some people who are suffering from severe sleep deprivation will exude symptoms that mimic psychosis. These symptoms include visual and auditory hallucinations, mood swings, significant memory lapses and even paranoia.

Taking these things into consideration, we see that sleep deprivation can be dangerous, and it's documented that sleep deprived individuals can actually be more dangerous behind the wheel than drunk drivers. Not only are one's motor skills and reaction time impaired when an individual is experiencing sleep deprivation, but visual hallucinations can cause a driver to react erratically, and dangerously, if they happen to imagine something running out in front of the vehicle while they are driving.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driver fatigue is responsible for 100,000 motor vehicle accidents and 1,500 deaths each year; some of these accidents might be avoided if the dangers of sleep deprivation were more widely discussed and drivers took more care to be sure that they were alert before getting behind the wheel.

Sleep deprivation and daily life can be a dangerous mix. Not only will getting an adequate amount of sleep help to improve your effectiveness throughout the day; it will make travel a bit safer for all of us.