Sleep deprivation

Not to be confused with Insomnia.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) recommendations for the amount of sleep needed decrease with age.[1] While sleep quantity is important, good sleep quality is also essential to avoid sleeping disorders.[1]
Sleep deprivation
SpecialtySleep medicine
SymptomsFatigue, eye bags, poor memory, irritable mood, weight gain
ComplicationsCar and work accidents, weight gain, cardiovascular disease
CausesInsomnia, sleep apnea, stimulants (caffeine, amphetamine), voluntary imposition (school, work), mood disorders
TreatmentCognitive behavioral therapy, caffeine (to induce alertness), sleeping pills

Sleep deprivation, also known as sleep insufficiency[2] or sleeplessness, is the condition of not having adequate duration and/or quality of sleep to support decent alertness, performance, and health. It can be either chronic or acute and may vary widely in severity. All known animals sleep or exhibit some form of sleep behavior, and the importance of sleep is self-evident for humans, as nearly a third of a person's life is spent sleeping.[2] Sleep deprivation is common as it affects about 1/3 of the population.[3]

The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night, while children and teenagers require even more. For instance, healthy individuals with normal sleep, the appropriate sleep duration for school-aged children is between 9 and 11 hours.[4][5] Acute sleep deprivation is when a person sleeps less than usual or does not sleep at all for a short period of time, normally lasting one to two days, but tends to follow the sleepless pattern for longer with no outside factors in play. Chronic sleep deprivation is when a person routinely sleeps less than an optimal amount for optimal functioning. The amount of sleep needed can depend on sleep quality, age, pregnancy, and level of sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation is linked to various adverse health outcomes, including cognitive impairments, mood disturbances, and increased risk for chronic conditions. A meta-analysis published in Sleep Medicine Reviews indicates that individuals who experience chronic sleep deprivation are at a higher risk for developing conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.[citation needed]

Insufficient sleep has been linked to weight gain, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, heart disease, and strokes.[6] Sleep deprivation can also lead to high anxiety, irritability, erratic behavior, poor cognitive functioning and performance, and psychotic episodes.[7] A chronic sleep-restricted state adversely affects the brain and cognitive function.[8] However, in a subset of cases, sleep deprivation can paradoxically lead to increased energy and alertness; although its long-term consequences have never been evaluated, sleep deprivation has even been used as a treatment for depression.[9][10]

To date, most sleep deprivation studies have focused on acute sleep deprivation, suggesting that acute sleep deprivation can cause significant damage to cognitive, emotional, and physical functions and brain mechanisms.[11] Few studies have compared the effects of acute total sleep deprivation and chronic partial sleep restriction.[8] A complete absence of sleep over a long period is not frequent in humans (unless they have fatal insomnia or specific issues caused by surgery); it appears that brief microsleeps cannot be avoided.[12] Long-term total sleep deprivation has caused death in lab animals.[13]

  1. ^ a b "How Much Sleep Do I Need?". CDC.gov. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 14 September 2022. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Last Reviewed: September 14, 2022. Source: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Population Health.
  2. ^ a b Amin F, Sankari A (2022). "Sleep Insufficiency". StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing. PMID 36256756. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  3. ^ Grandner MA (2019). "Epidemiology of insufficient sleep and poor sleep quality". Sleep and Health. pp. 11–20. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-815373-4.00002-2. ISBN 978-0-12-815373-4.
  4. ^ Hirshkowitz M, Whiton K, Albert SM, Alessi C, Bruni O, DonCarlos L, et al. (March 2015). "National Sleep Foundation's sleep time duration recommendations: methodology and results summary". Sleep Health. 1 (1): 40–43. doi:10.1016/j.sleh.2014.12.010.
  5. ^ Suni E, Dimitriu A (25 July 2023). "Sleep Deprivation: Understanding the Hidden Consequences". SleepFoundation.org.
  6. ^ Olson E. "How many hours of sleep are enough for good health?". Mayo Clinic. Simon & Schuster. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  7. ^ "How poor sleep affects your mental health". Priory. 3 July 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  8. ^ a b Alhola P, Polo-Kantola P (October 2007). "Sleep deprivation: Impact on cognitive performance". Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. 3 (5): 553–567. PMC 2656292. PMID 19300585. Although both conditions [total and partial SD] induce several negative effects including impairments in cognitive performance, the underlying mechanisms seem to be somewhat different.
  9. ^ Nykamp K, Rosenthal L, Folkerts M, Roehrs T, Guido P, Roth T (September 1998). "The effects of REM sleep deprivation on the level of sleepiness/alertness". Sleep. 21 (6): 609–614. doi:10.1093/sleep/21.6.609. PMID 9779520.
  10. ^ Riemann D, Berger M, Voderholzer U (July–August 2001). "Sleep and depression--results from psychobiological studies: an overview". Biological Psychology. 57 (1–3): 67–103. doi:10.1016/s0301-0511(01)00090-4. PMID 11454435.
  11. ^ Mai Z, Xu H, Ma N (October 2021). "Research progress on the impact of acute sleep deprivation on cognitive and emotional functions and its neural mechanisms". Chinese General Medicine (in Chinese). 24 (29): 3653–3659. doi:10.12114/j.issn.1007-9572.2021.01.016.
  12. ^ Kushida CA (2005). Sleep deprivation. Informa Health Care. pp. 1–2. ISBN 978-0-8247-5949-0.
  13. ^ Rechtschaffen A, Bergmann BM (1995). "Sleep deprivation in the rat by the disk-over-water method". Behavioural Brain Research. 69 (1–2): 55–63. doi:10.1016/0166-4328(95)00020-T. PMID 7546318.