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Insomnia

The Damage Caused by Insomnia

With what research has demonstrated about the effects of sleep deprivation, it is amazing that some people still scoff at chronic insomniacs’ complaints.

Even the medical establishment at many hospitals and universities, which is well aware of the implications of sleep deprivation, continues to require residents to deal with life and death decisions in a physically and mentally impaired state.

Lack of sleep is a very big deal – for insomniacs, for those forced to work unsafe or excessive hours, for those who think their superior constitution allows them to function well on less sleep than the rest of us, and for anyone who comes into contact with these individuals.

Six hours a night is the recommended minimum. Most people function best with the proverbial eight.

Effects of Insufficient Sleep

Insufficient sleep impairs judgment, logical and creative thinking ability, physical reaction time, speech and immune function. It can shorten one’s life and cause accidents that shorten other people’s lives.

Fortunately along with the scary research on the results of sleep deprivation, are new and more effective treatments. If you or a loved one suffers from chronic insomnia, don’t think it is just something you have to live with. Get medical help.

If you’re not an insomniac, but are in a situation where you feel forced to cut back on sleep, please read on to understand the risk you are running. You may want to make some important lifestyle changes.

Magnetic resonance images of the brains of sleep-deprived individuals show virtually no activity in the temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex; whereas this area appears very active in individuals who have had sufficient sleep. The temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex is associated with the processing of language including speech and novel creative thinking.

Sleep deprived test subjects had difficulty thinking of imaginative words or ideas. Their vocabulary tended to be limited and repetitive. They had difficulty delivering a cogent statement. They spoke in a slow monotone and exhibited varying degrees of slurring and stuttering.

Working until the wee hours on that very important presentation was likely more counterproductive than you realized.

Subjects showed slower than normal reaction time to surprises. They did not have the reaction speed or creative thinking ability to make a rapid and logical response.

Think of a car stopping short in front of you or a child running out from between parked cars.

They had difficulty focusing on and reacting appropriately to multiple related tasks, like when your toddler spills his juice all over the back seat while you are trying to pull out into rush hour traffic.

In one study conducted in Australia, drivers who had been awake for 17 to 19 hours performed worse than those with a blood alcohol limit of .05 percent – the legal limit in many European countries. The study estimated that 16 to 60 percent of road accidents involve sleep deprivation.

The researchers said countries with drunk driving laws should consider similar restrictions against sleep-deprived driving.

Following up on this study, the British Medical Association warned that there are other problems associated with sleep deprivation beyond impaired motor skills.

People who get too little sleep may have higher levels of stress, anxiety and depression, and may take unnecessary risks.

Finally, one of the possible side effects of a continued lack of sleep is death.

The immune system is severely stressed by insufficient sleep. The number of white blood cells within the body decreases, as does the activity of the remaining white blood cells. The body also decreases the amount of growth hormone produced.

The ability of the body to metabolize sugar declines, so it converts the sugar to fat.

One study stated that people who sleep less than four hours per night are three times more likely to die within the next six years.

Lab rats that are continually deprived of sleep die within two to five weeks, generally due to their severely weakened immune system. The normal lab rat life span is two years.

For some tips on how to get a good night’s sleep, read natural sleep aids.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to be taken as medical advice.

 

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