Explanatory Synthesis on Sleep Deprivation

Introduction

Sleep deprivation is a type of insomnia which is often caused by the inability to fall asleep or stay slumbering soundly (Irwin, Olmstead, & Carroll, 49). In some cases, an individual is unable to regain their sleep in the middle of the night after waking up. The disorder affects people differently according to age in most incidences. For instance, the biological, behavioral, and social worlds contribute to making sleeping difficult for a large number of adolescents. When the state of mind does not have peace, the body tends to lose sleep completely.

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Conferring to Deuschle and Michael (4), the brain controls sleeping just like any other body activities such as eating, socializing, and fighting. According to the researchers, sleep is the unique of its kind; it involves a more private and personal experience despite the body's closeness like sharing of bedding. People do think that siesta is passively engaged though it includes an active mind concentration with more absence of consciousness. Therefore, it is impossible to have a sound sleep in an open light with loud music as physical destructors. Employees deny themselves the freedom to sleep as most of them set alarms in their bedrooms to limit their sleep as they set for work in the morning when they still feel sleepy.

Scientifically, evolution equipped humans, in common with all other animals, with a biological mechanism to make people sleep at roughly the same time every day (Vanini, & Giancarlo, 3). Nevertheless, the mechanism evolved to cope with a pre-industrial world that had a different vast from the new inhabit. Also, the current society has adopted a culture of operating for twenty-four hours; this has greatly interfered with the time set for sleeping as it is considered to be wasted. Ignorance of neglecting sleep has caused harm to the society with manifestations in mental problems, physical health, poor quality in work performance, and general behavior.

People face a different type of sleep disorders. Some sleep comes easily, and one sail through the night in a satisfying slumber. Irwin, Olmstead, and Carroll (48) argue that waking up after such a night is a wonderful feeling; an individual feels relaxed, energized, and ready for a new day's activity. In contrast, on other nights, sleep comes slowly or does not until wee hours or one may fall asleep only to wake up later and stay awake throughout the night. According to the National Insurance of Health, sixty million Americans have short-term insomnia in every year, frequently or extended period of time.

Insufficient sleep is directly linked to poor health. A new research suggests an increase in risk of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and even premature death. Additional, few nights of bad sleep can be detrimental. Combinations of sleep deprivation and driving always have fatal consequences to human health, and also intensification of accidents associated with driver sleepiness. Scientists, according to Valdez (332), divide sleep into two major types; rapid eye movement (REM) sleep or dreaming sleep, and non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) or quiet sleep.

Scientifically, sleep happens in various stages. In the first stage, powerful brain waves slowly (four to seven cycles per second), in a pattern called theta waves. Body temperature begins to drop, muscles relax, and eyes often move slowly from side to side. People in this stage lose awareness of their surroundings, but they are easily jarred awake. However, not everyone experiences the first stage in the same way. The second phase of true sleep lasts for about ten to twenty-five minutes. At the moment, an individual's eyes are still, and their heartbeat and breathing are slower than when awake. Finally, the last stage of sleep is known as deep sleep or slow-wave sleep (Vanini, 3). During this stage, breathing becomes more regular. Blood pressure falls, and pulse rate slows to about twenty percent to thirty percent below the waking rate. The brain becomes less responsive to external stimuli, making it difficult to wake the sleeper.

As Deuschle and Michael (5) suggest, dreaming occurs during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the human brain at the moment races, thinking and dreaming, as eyes dart and forth rapidly behind closed lids. Despite all the activity, one's body hardly moves, except for intermittent twitches. Scientists do believe that REM restores someone's mind. Recent studies of students' ability to solve a complex puzzle involving abstract shapes suggest the brain processes information overnight. Students who get a good night sleep after seeing the puzzle fared much better than those asked to solve the puzzle immediately. Studies also show that REM sleep facilitates learning and memory.

Also, hereditary determines how people sleep throughout their lives. For example, identical twins have much more similar sleep patterns than non-identical twins or other siblings. Differences in sleeping and waking seem to be inborn. Children sleep differently compared to adults (McEwen, Bruce, & Karatsoreos, 5). It is unrealistic for a grown up to fall in slumber like a kid, for instance, a newborn may sleep eight times a day, accumulating eighteen hours of sleep and spending about half of it in REM sleep. The REM to non-REM cycle is short, usually lasting less than an hour. Period and the time of sleep for a newborn gradually reduce as the age increases from four weeks to six months and the pattern changes to the age of six years.

Many people do not realize that the lack of enough sleep can lead to a range of ill effects, triggering mild to potentially life-threatening consequences. There is two different type of sleep deprivation that is complete or partial sleep deprivation. Complete sleep deprivation happens about sixteen hours between sleep sessions. Sleep deprivation also leaves one prone to two potentially dangerous occurrences, microsleeps, and automatic behavior, which play a role in transportation accidents each year (Vanini, & Giancarlo, 3). Performance is influenced by fluctuation in circadian rhythms. For example, sleep-deprived people still function well during the morning and evening.

According to Irwin, Olmstead, and Carroll (50), partial sleep deprivation occurs when get some sleep, for instance one requires to sleep eight hours but only sleeps for six hours. Long-term partial sleep deprivation occurs when someone gets less than the optimum amount of sleep for months or years on end-a common set-up for insomniacs and people with sleep disorders. Study found that men limited to four hours of sleep for two consecutive nights experienced hormonal changes that make them feel hungry and crave carbohydrate-rich foods such as cakes, candy, ice cream, and pasta. Middle-aged people who sleep five hours or less a night have a greater risk of developing high blood pressure, compared to people who sleep seven to nine hours a night.

Conclusion

Ideally, women who averaged five hours of sleep a night are more likely to develop heart disease than women who sleep eight hours. Also, persistent insomnia raises the risk for anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders Irwin, Olmstead, and Carroll (50). Finally, men who sleep for less than four hours a day have higher mortality rate compared to men who sleep for about eight hours. Undoubtedly, sleep is an important element of good health just like; eating healthy diet, getting regular exercise, and committed to good dental hygiene thus a basic component of a healthy lifestyle.

Work Cited

Deuschle, Michael, Et Al. "Serum BrainDerived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) In SleepDisordered Patients: Relation to Sleep Stage N3 and Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep Across Diagnostic Entities." Journal of Sleep Research 27.1 (2018): 73-77.

Irwin M. R Olmstead, R, & Carroll, J. E (2016), Sleep Disturbance, Sleep Duration, and Inflammation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies and Experimental Sleep Deprivation. Biological Psychiatry 23.5 (2016): 40-52.

Mcewen, Bruce S, and Ilia N. Karatsoreos. "Sleep Deprivation and Circadian Disruption: Stress, Allostasis, and Allostatic Load." Sleep Medicine Clinics 10.1 (2015): 1-10.

Valdez, P., Et Al. "Assessment of the Inability to Counteract the Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance under a Low Stimulation Condition." Sleep Medicine 40 (2017): E331.

Vanini, Giancarlo. "Nucleus Accumbens: A Novel Forebrain Mechanism Underlying the Increase in Pain Sensitivity Caused by Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Deprivation." Pain 159.1 (2018): 5-6.

Wright Jr, Kenneth P., Et Al. "Influence of Sleep Deprivation and Circadian Misalignment on Cortisol, Inflammatory Markers, And Cytokine Balance." Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 47 (2015): 24-34.