Sleep deprivation is exactly what it sounds like: when you are deprived of sleep. Sleep deprivation can be long term, or “chronic” sleep deficiency or short term, “acute” sleep deficiency. Regardless of whether you have acute or chronic sleep deprivation, it can make life miserable for yourself, and those around you. Ask yourself, did you get enough sleep this week?
Sleep deprivation DOES significantly affect your performance and health in all areas of life, including:
Sleep deprivation criteria will be different for different people depending on three basic things:
Our sleep patterns and requirements change as we age. Some lifestyles will require more or less sleep and potentially at certain times (i.e., shift workers will need to sleep odd hours). There is also an individual component that impacts how much sleep you should get based on your own individual needs.
Sleep deprivation occurs when you are not getting those needs. It affects people of all ages, children and adults. It can have a known or unknown root cause. The sleep deprivation can be severe, moderate, or minor.
Symptoms of chronic sleep deprivation can be subtle or marked, depending on both the severity of sleep deprivation and the personality of who is affected. But often, symptoms are noticeable by the sleep deprived and their loved ones. Here are common symptoms:
People with chronic sleep deprivation perform lower in most areas of life:
They tend to make people feel “off” or “like a different person”, and “not like myself.” This is because chronic sleep deprivation does change your behavior, to the point where you really are behaving very differently than the well-rested version of yourself does.
Fatigue and exhaustion are usually the most obvious signs of chronic sleep deprivation. This takes the form of:
Chronic sleep deprivation can also significantly reduce your cognitive ability in the following ways:
Usually, cognitive dysfunction will be noticed by teachers and employers if it becomes bad enough.
Getting good sleep plays an important role in emotional management. Chronic sleep deprivation can seriously disrupt this, and lead to:
Physical and emotional energy also play important roles in maintaining libido. Sleep deprivation can steal libidic energy for men and women alike, leading to reduced sex drive and sexual trouble.
For men, chronic sleep deprivation can have even more of an impact. Men replenish testosterone during sleep. Without testosterone, men are at great risk of suffering from erectile dysfunction and further reduced sex drive.
Studies show that sleep problems often lead to sexual problems for men. One study, for example, found that in 531 men, patients who slept 4 hours or less had half as much testosterone as patients who sleep 8+ hours. Other studies have been remarkably consistent with their findings, with several other studies citing the ED sleep apnea link at 40%, 46%, 61%, 64%, and 69%.
There are enumerable number of reasons why you might be sleep deprived. But sleep deprivation in people tend to have similar types of causes.
Sleep disorders such as insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, parasomnias, and circadian rhythm disorders lead to long term, chronic sleep deprivation – chronic sleep deprivation that can be severe. Treating these sleep disorders often reduces the sleep deprivation.
Also, the link between chronic pain and sleep deprivation is startling. Do you live with pain, especially in the last week? If so, consider these facts [2015 Sleep in AmericaTM Poll]:
If you live with chronic pain, do the above statistics look familiar?
Finally, our bodies undergo natural biological and hormonal changes as we age that affect sleep. Elderly populations, for example, are the most likely of any demographic to report sleep problems.
Certain lifestyles and lifestyle decisions impact sleep. Any of the following are highly correlated with sleep loss:
Lifestyle factors can cause chronic or acute sleep deprivation – it all depends on the lifestyle factor causing the deprivation is chronic or temporary.
Life stressors can play a significant role in both chronic and acute sleep deprivation. Common stressors include:
Your environment can greatly dictate sleep quality. Is your room dark, quiet, clean, and peaceful? If not, it may be impacting sleep.
Also, here in Alaska we face a natural environment that is particularly unsuited for sleep because of the extreme lighting conditions. These extreme lighting conditions do not offer us the natural queues needed prompts sleep or wakefulness – and many of us have to take extra measures (i.e., light therapy) to combat sleep problems in Alaska.
Treating sleep deprivation requires consistent, high quality sleep, potentially for a long period of time. Sleep studies show that getting one or two long nights of sleep does not remove the effects of sleep deprivation.
Also, treatment for your sleep deprivation will likely be different than another person’s – causes, lifestyle factors, and other factors affect your sleep patterns and those need to be accounted for in order to help you get back on a healthy sleeping schedule.
Nonetheless, there are a few things you can do to maximize your sleep potential:
If you live in Alaska and are chronically sleep deprived, start the road to a better night’s sleep by taking this free online sleep test.