Sleep Deprivation and How to Recognize It

As far as this book is concerned, the central tenet is that snoring is a major cause of sleepless nights, leading to fatigue, irritability, lack of concentration and so on. Thus, snoring is something that any sufferer or those close to them must do something about, and, if possible it makes a great deal of sense to handle the problem in a natural manner.

So, it is logical that you are reading this as a first, second or even thirdhand 'snoring victim' and wondering whether you really have a genuine sleep deprivation problem. After all, you don't seem to have any particular problems with your brain, and, so far at least, picking up your coffee cup in the morning has never caused you any major insurmountable difficulties.

In other words, in the absence of any of these more serious effects of sleep deprivation, perhaps you are wondering how to recognize whether your snoring problem (whether it is you who is a snorer or someone else is irrelevant, it is still your problem!) is actually causing you to be deprived of sleep. The objective of this section of the report is to address this query.

How much sleep do you need?

Whilst nowadays it is relatively common for adults in developed Western nations to 'get by' on only five or six hours sleep a night and think that they are properly rested, they are in fact completely wrong!

Although there is no doubt that they will get through the day perfectly adequately, what they obviously do not appreciate is the fact that with a couple more hours sleep every night, they could potentially perform at a far higher level.

However, because they have been getting by on five or six hours sleep for years, 'ticking along' every day in exactly the same way, they have long since lost sight of what their true potential could or might have been.

To do your best and be your best, you must have enough sleep every night.

Over the course of your life the amount of sleep that you need every night will decrease, but as a post-teen adult right up until the time you hit your 60s, you need an average of seven or eight hours of good sleep every night. If you get anything less than this, you will be suffering the effects of sleep deprivation whether you appreciate and understand it or not.

How to recognize sleep deprivation

Sleep deprivation occurs when you are not getting enough sleep to satisfy the requirements of your own body. Sometimes, this can happen on a short term basis when, for example, you are working late nights and very early mornings on an important work project. This is generally not a major problem, because the chances are that when the project (or whatever else it is that is causing this temporary lifestyle change) is over, you will, more than likely, return to getting a good night's sleep.

Although in this situation, your body will not return back to full normality immediately, the recovery period should be fairly short. A far more serious complaint is chronic sleep deprivation, which is, for instance, common in professions where working long hours is the norm.

An example of this situation would be a junior hospital doctor who is oncall 24 hours a day for a complete week. Chronic sleep deprivation can also come about because of sleep disorders and other diseases that interfere with sleep, jobs that carry high levels of multiple responsibilities necessitating international travel, and so on.

And, of course, if you have lived with or are a chronic snorer, then it is perfectly feasible that you too are someone who suffers from chronic sleep deprivation. Here is how you might recognize the condition:

Constant poor performance at school, in work or even on the sports field

Difficulties shaking yourself awake in the morning

Difficulty with and hesitancy about making decisions, especially when those decisions are relatively minor

Difficulty staying awake or actually falling asleep at work, school or college

Increased clumsiness and an associated inability to deal with any task that requires manual dexterity

An inability to concentrate or focus on the job in hand

Feeling moody, irritable and generally ill at sorts with the world

All of these could be signs of chronic sleep deprivation, although there is of course a possibility that they could also be an indication of other physical or physiological problems.

In any event, if you are suffering from any of these life-limiting 'symptoms', you should consult with your medical practitioner, because you clearly need some kind of assistance. Whatever it is that is causing these problems for you, it is essential that you get to the root cause as quickly as possible, because the chances of you 'getting better' or making a recovery without any assistance are extremely slim.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_deprivation