From an early age, many children are told to go to sleep at a certain time, without any explanations. Even though a few children follow the habit of sleeping at a recommended time through their childhood and adulthood, there are many people who have not followed the habit and have a sleep deficiency. The lack of sleep can cause differences in mental health, physical health, and daily performance.
If the recommended time of sleep isn't received then an individual’s mental health can be affected in numerous ways. Being sleep deprived causes individuals to affect the central nervous system and causes one to be exhausted and be more prone to feeling impatient and having mood swings. Some mood swings could cause one to be anxious, depressed, stressed, etc. Thus mood swings can frequently occur, and the issue of mental disorders can further escalate and cause a depth of severity in disorders.
Physical health is another factor that can be affected. In general, people who lack sleep During sleep are likely to have a weaker immune system. To back this, a study had been conducted by the National Institutes of Health that showed results that participants who slept for less than 5 hours each night were substantially more likely to develop a cold than those who slept for more than 7 hours. Participants who slept 5–6 hours each night were 4.24 times more likely to develop a cold. Not only can sleep affect immunity to fight off sicknesses, but it also helps the heart and blood vessels to repair. Thus if an individual has insufficient amounts of sleep they have an increased risk of heart diseases, kidney diseases, stroke, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Sleep also affects one’s performance on a day-to-day basis. Sleep deprivation has a detrimental impact on cognition, attentiveness, productivity, and performance. People who don't receive enough sleep are less effective at accomplishing tasks for their occupation or school. They require more frequent time for activities, have slower reaction times, and make more errors. A study proves this fact as doctors with somewhat, high, and very high sleep-related deficiencies were 54%, 96%, and 97% more likely to report clinically significant medical mistakes. Drivers, health care workers, and pilots are also at risk as they feel drowsy and may enter states of microsleep which can be dangerous, potentially causing accidents and harm to others. Sleep deprivation has been shown in studies to impact driving abilities as much as, if not more than, being drunk. Driver drowsiness is thought to have a role in over 100,000 car accidents each year, resulting in about 1,500 deaths.
Not receiving a sufficient amount of sleep can negatively affect an individual in several ways including mental health, physical health and daily productivity, and alertness which can range from somewhat unhealthy to extremely dangerous.
Sources:
Leech, Joe. “10 Top Benefits of Getting More Sleep.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 6 Jan. 2022,https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-reasons-why-good-sleep-is-important#9.-Affects-emotions-and-social-interactions.
Pacheco, Danielle. “Why Do We Need Sleep?” Sleep Foundation, 9 Dec. 2021, https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/why-do-we-need-sleep#:~:text=Sleep%20is%20an%20essential%20function,the%20brain%20cannot%20function%20properly.
Suni, Eric. “Sleep Deprivation: Causes, Symptoms, & Treatment.” Sleep Foundation, 24 June 2021, https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-deprivation.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. “Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency.” National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/sleep-deprivation-and-deficiency.
Watson, Stephanie. “11 Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Your Body.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 15 Dec. 2021, https://www.healthline.com/health/sleep-deprivation/effects-on-body.
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