Understanding Sleep Deprivation

For adults, eight hours is generally considered an adequate amount of sleep per night. Occasionally, certain factors such as stress may interfere with sleep. When the lack of sleep becomes chronic, it is known as sleep deprivation. Being an insomniac myself, I know what effects this type of disorder can have on your life.

The most common causes of sleep deprivation are unrecognized, and undiagnosed sleep disorders. A sleep disorder is one of 84 identified conditions that interferes with sleep.

The Introduction to Psychology, Sixth Edition by Rod Plotnik describes the sleep disorder known as Night Terrors, or pavor nocturna, as being a sleep disruption that commonly begins as a scream and may manifest as moaning,wailing, crying, or gasping for air, after which, the patient awakens to a semi-conscious state before falling back asleep. In the morning, the patient does not recall the interruption of sleep. Night Terrors differ from nightmares, in that they are not a frightening dream sequence, but a very real and agonizing sense of terror.

Insomnia is the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep. Other symptoms of insomnia include chronic fatigue, lack of concentration, and short term memory loss. It has been reported that after prolonged periods of time, insomnia can cause paranoia, hallucination, and more serious memory problems.

According to Psychology, by Robert A. Baron, fatal familial insomnia is a disorder in which the patient experiences increasingly severe disturbances in sleep, until only brief periods of REM sleep occur. Although a relatively rare disorder, it is dangerous. As the name suggests, fatal familial insomnia does result in death. It is yet unknown if the cause of death can be linked to another neurological problem, or if it is a direct result of the sleep disturbances.

Other sleep disorders that can result in sleep deprivation are RLS, or restless leg syndrome, that is having the persistent urge to move your legs when you go to bed at night, somnambulism (sleepwalking), and sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a disorder in which the patient stops breathing at night, causing him or her to wake up frequently.

Studies suggest that prolonged periods of sleep deprivation can result in serious health consequences for the patient. Dr. Shyam Subramianian, assistant professor of medicine at Baylor College states that anxiety, depression, seizure, strokes, blood clots, and heart attacks can occur after prolonged periods of disrupted sleep, or sleep deprivation.

Many people try reading, taking baths, or avoiding caffeine during the day to help combat occasional bouts of insomnia. When someone suffers from chronic sleep deprivation, it may be advisable to seek medical help in the form of therapy or psycho pharmacological intervention.

Some therapies include hypnosis, light therapy to retrain the bodies Circadian Rhythm, behavioral sleep medicine that focuses on thee emotional, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of the disorder, physical therapy, or possibly surgery for sleep apnea.

If therapy alone is ineffectual, your doctor may prescribe medications such as Ambien, Trazadone, or Lunesta, to help regulate your sleep pattern. As these medications do carry the risk of addiction, that and other side effects should be discussed with your physician.

In addition to therapy and medication, you may want to join a sleep disorder support group. Some, like dailystrength.org, offer an online forum.