Sleep deprivation is the accumulation of nights with less than the recommended number of hours of sleep. Chronic sleep deprivation is when you are deprived for long periods of time – at least a month or more. This differs from acute sleep deprivation, that is short lived and often has a very specific cause. Chronic sleep deprivation will most certainly make life miserable for you, and can negatively impact those around you as well.
Sleep deprivation impacts your performance and health in all areas of life. Furthermore, it can have serious medical consequences like:
To avoid sleep deprivation, you need to get enough sleep. This could be difficult to do because
You need to be aware what your needs are because sleep deprivation is a result of not meeting them.
All that being said, it’s good to have a baseline for the number of hours of sleep you need. Here are common recommendation for how much sleep you should expect to get based on your age [National Sleep Foundation]:
These are general guidelines. As said earlier, the sleep you need may fall within this range, or it might be a little higher (though virtually all studies show that 7 hours is the minimum).
Also, as we age our sleep patterns change, and we have to accommodate these changes. Usually this entails:
Chronic sleep deprivation has significant negative consequences on our health as well
Sleep deprivation is uncomfortable physically, and you will likely notice changes in the physical aspects of your life. Generally, you will feel sluggish, low energy, and weaker than normal. Here are commonly descriptors of the physical experience of chronic sleep deprivation:
For men, chronic sleep deprivation can have even more impact. Men replenish testosterone during sleep. Without testosterone, men are at great risk for suffering from erectile dysfunction and further reduced sex drive [see this study which found that in 531 men, patients who slept 4 hours or less had half as much testosterone as patients who sleep 8+ hours].
The mental experience of chronic sleep deprivation can also be miserable. It can make you feel any or all of the following:
If your symptoms are bad enough, people like your boss or teacher/professor will take notice.
Getting good sleep plays an important role in emotional management. Chronic sleep deprivation can seriously disrupt your ability to feel joy, manage emotions, and stay emotionally healthy. Chronic sleep deprivation can lead to or worsen:
Emotionally, you may be significantly less able to manage setbacks, manage stress, and react well to emotionally charged situations. A frequent lament for people who have chronic sleep deprivation is, “I just can’t deal with this anymore.”
As you can see, the experience of chronic sleep deprivation is assaulting on all fronts: emotionally, physically, and cognitively. If you are experiencing it now or have experienced it in the past, you know what we are talking about.
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.
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.