Effects of Sleep Deprivation: Causes And Treatment

In this article, we looked at sleep in detail; now we look at sleep deprivation and oversleeping – both can be bad for your health. Let us dive right in to understanding their impact on our overall health.

Sleep Deprivation

Sleep deprivation simply means that you’re not getting enough sleep. Inadequate sleep depletes your brain powers and puts at risk your physical health. Inadequate sleep has been connected with a multitude of health concerns, ranging from weight gain to a weakened immune system. The average daily amount of sleep needed, by age, is:

• Newborns (up to 3 months old): 14 to 17 hours.
  
• Infants (4 to 12 months old): 12 to 16 hours, including naptime.
  
• Young children (1 to 5 years old): 10 to 14 hours, including naptime.
  
• School-aged children (6 to 12 years old): 9 to 12 hours.
  
• Teenagers (13 to 18 years old): 8 to 10 hours.
  
• Adults (18 years and up): 7 to 9 hours.

For most adults, the amount of sleep needed for best health is 7 to 8 hours each night.

When you get less sleep than that, as many people do, it can eventually lead to many health problems. These can include forgetfulness, weight gain, being less able to fight off infections, mood swings, and depression.

Sleep deprivation is more common. As many of us strive to fit everything into our schedules, sleep suffers as a result.

Sleep deprivation also worsens as people age. Older folks certainly require the same amount of sleep as younger adults, but they tend to sleep more lightly. They also sleep for fewer periods than younger folks. Half of all persons over the age of 65 experience frequent sleep issues.

The difference between sleep deprivation, insomnia and sleep debt

You might come across these terms and if you are like me; you’d question – are they not the same thing? As similar as they are, and are often used interchangeably, there exist slight differences between them but have the same negative impact on our overall health.

Sleep deprivation is when you don’t get enough sleep due to a lack of time or the inability to create proper conditions for sleep. Insomnia is a sleep disorder that makes it difficult to fall or stay asleep, even when you have the opportunity to sleep.

Sleep debt, also known as a sleep deficit, is the difference between the amount of sleep you need and the amount you get. It builds up over time when you don’t get enough sleep or choose to sleep less than you need. For example, if you need eight hours of sleep but only get six, you have a sleep debt of two hours.

If you get four hours of sleep when you should be getting eight, you’ll have a sleep debt of four hours. If you do this for the next seven days, you’ll end up with a sleep debt of 28 hours.

In the same vein, if you go to sleep 20 minutes or 40 minutes later than usual for a few days, that can quickly add up your sleep debt — even though it doesn’t seem like you’re losing a lot of sleep. Accordingly, you should watch your late-night habits and make sure you’re not missing sleep by commuting, relaxing, working, studying, or watching shows.

What causes sleep deprivation?

• Sleep disorder – These include insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and restless legs syndrome.
• Aging – People older than 65 may have trouble sleeping because of aging, medicine they’re taking, or health problems they’re having.
  Illness – Sleep deprivation is common with depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, chronic pain syndrome, cancer, stroke, and Alzheimer disease.
• Other factors – Many people have occasional sleep deprivation for other reasons. These include stress, environmental issues, a change in schedule, or a new baby disrupting their sleep schedule. Medications such as corticosteroids, stimulants( like coffee, alcohol) and more. Short-term illnesses and infections, such as the common cold, the flu and more.

Symptoms of sleep deprivation

• Less ability to fight off infections/ weakened immune system
• Daytime sleepiness.
• Fatigue.
• Irritability.
• Trouble thinking, focusing and remembering.
• Slowed reaction times.
• Headaches.
• “Microsleeps” (when a person briefly falls asleep for only seconds before waking back up).
• Uncontrollable eye movements (nystagmus).
• Trouble speaking clearly.
• Drooping eyelids (ptosis).
• Hand tremors.
• Visual and tactile (touch-based) hallucinations.
• Impaired judgment.
• Impulsive (or even reckless) behavior.
• Increased risk for depression and mental illness
• Increased risk for stroke and asthma attack
• Increased risk for potentially life-threatening problems. These include car accidents, and untreated sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea, and narcolepsy.
• Hallucinations
• Severe mood swings

Effects of sleep deprivation

Sleep deprivation has numerous harmful effects on your health. These can influence the following body systems, organs, and processes:

• Immune system

Your body’s natural defenses against infections can’t work properly if you aren’t getting enough sleep. Sleep deprivation prevents your immune system from building up its forces. If you don’t get enough sleep, your body may not be able to fend off invaders, and it may also take you longer to recover from illness.

While you sleep, your immune system generates antibodies and cytokines to combat infections. It employs these compounds to fight off foreign invaders like bacteria and viruses.

Certain cytokines also promote sleep, increasing the effectiveness with which your immune system defends your body against illness.

• Digestive system

In addition to eating too much and not exercising, sleep deprivation is a risk factor for being overweight or obese. Sleep impacts the levels of leptin and ghrelin, two hormones that regulate hunger and fullness.

Leptin informs your brain that you have had enough to eat. Without enough sleep, your brain lowers leptin and increases ghrelin, a hunger stimulant. The fluctuation of these hormones could explain nighttime eating or why someone might overeat later in the evening.

A lack of sleep can sometimes leave you too exhausted to exercise. Reduced physical activity over time might lead to weight gain because you are not burning enough calories or building muscle mass. Sleep deprivation also causes your body to release less insulin after you eat. Insulin helps to reduce your blood sugar (glucose) level.

Sleep deprivation also lowers the body’s tolerance for glucose and is associated with insulin resistance. These disruptions can lead to diabetes mellitus and obesity.

• Circulatory systems

Sleep deprivation has long-term damaging effects on your heart and circulatory health. Sleep affects processes that keep your heart and blood vessels healthy, including those that affect your blood sugar, blood pressure, and inflammation levels. It also plays a vital role in your body’s ability to heal and repair the blood vessels and heart.

People who don’t sleep enough are more likely to get cardiovascular disease. One analysis linked insomnia to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

• Mental health

Sleep deprivation also negatively affects your mental health and emotional state, making it harder for you to manage and process your emotions. People with sleep deprivation are more likely to feel symptoms of depression and anxiety. You may feel more impatient or prone to mood swings. It can also compromise decision-making processes and creativity.

If sleep deprivation continues long enough, you could start having hallucinations — seeing or hearing things that aren’t really there. A lack of sleep can also trigger mania in people who have bipolar mood disorder. Your mental health has a major impact on your sleep and vice versa. This can set up a cycle that reinforces itself as it gets worse.

• Respiratory system

Sleep and the respiratory system are intertwined. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a nightly breathing disorder that can disrupt your sleep and reduce its quality.

As you wake up during the night, you may experience sleep deprivation, making you more susceptible to respiratory infections such as the common cold and flu. Sleep deprivation may also worsen pre-existing respiratory disorders, such as chronic lung illness.

• Endocrine system

Sleep regulates hormone production. For testosterone production, you need at least 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep, which is about equivalent to your first R.E.M. episode. Waking up during the night may have an impact on hormone production.

This disruption can also impair growth hormone production, particularly in children and teenagers. In addition to other growth roles, these hormones aid in the development of muscle mass and the repair of cells and tissues.

The pituitary gland releases growth hormone throughout the day, although adequate sleep and activity aid in its release.

• Central nervous system

Your central nervous system is the primary information highway in your body. Sleep is crucial for your body to function correctly, but severe insomnia can impair how it normally sends and processes information.

During sleep, pathways form between nerve cells (neurons) in your brain, allowing you to remember newly learnt information. Sleep deprivation exhausts your brain, making it unable to fulfill its jobs effectively.

You may also have difficulty concentrating or learning new things. Your body’s signals may also be delayed, reducing coordination and raising your risk of an accident.

Sleep deprivation also increases your risk of developing certain conditions or making them worse if you have them. These conditions include:

• Type 2 diabetes.
• High blood pressure (hypertension).
• Obesity
• Obstructive sleep apnea.
• Vascular disease.
• Stroke.
• Heart attack.
• Depression.
• Anxiety.
• Conditions that involve psychosis.

Treatment for sleep deprivation

Some treatment approaches focus on changing how a person sleeps (or prepares for sleep), while others focus on treating whatever disrupts a person’s ability to sleep. It can take days or weeks to recover from a bout of sleep deprivation. 1 day of total sleep loss may require over 2 days of recovery sleep. The longer you’ve been awake, the longer it will take to get back on track.

• Getting enough sleep:

The most basic form of sleep deprivation treatment is getting an adequate amount of sleep, typically 7 to 9 hours each night. This is often easier said than done, especially if you’ve been deprived of precious shut-eye for several weeks or longer – but, it all boils down to having a good sleep hygiene.

You may need help from your doctor or a sleep specialist who, if needed, can diagnose and treat a possible sleep disorder. Sleep disorders may make it difficult to get quality sleep at night. They may also increase your risk for the above effects of sleep deprivation on the body.

• Light therapy:

If you have severe insomnia, your doctor might suggest light therapy. This treatment may help reset your body’s internal clock, but more research is needed.

• Medications:

Several medications can assist a person fall and stay asleep, as well as affect their sleep pattern. Some can even alter a person’s dreams, reducing the likelihood of severe nightmares or other sleep disruptions. Many sleep-inducing drugs, however, might create habits, so healthcare providers prescribe these cautiously.

• Breathing support methods:

Sleep apnea and other conditions that interfere with breathing during sleep can be treated using a number of approaches. These include several kinds of pillows and supports, mouthpieces that modify your jaw position, surgery to enlarge your airway, positive airway pressure machines that keep your airway open while you sleep, and other options.

• Exercise:

Exercise can help you fall asleep faster, sleep longer, and sleep more deeply. Reduce stress, can help you decompress and stabilize your mood, which can help you fall asleep and stay asleep. It can help your body temperature drop after exercise, which can help you feel sleepier.

Exercise increases the production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles. Reduce daytime sleepiness – Exercise can help alleviate daytime sleepiness. Reduce risk of obstructive sleep apnea – Exercise can help reduce the risk of excessive weight gain, which can help reduce the risk of obstructive sleep apnea.

The 5 Stages of Sleep Deprivation

While there isn’t a universal timeline for sleep deprivation; the general stages are determined by how many hours of sleep you’ve missed. The symptoms of sleep deprivation tend to get worse in each stage. After each stage, additional negative side effects begin to occur. The times are:

• After 24 hours: Stage 1

Missing 24 hours of sleep won’t cause major health problems, but you can expect to feel tired and “off.”

Staying awake for 24 hours may increase the risk of errors and accidents in everyday tasks. This is because it reduces:

• alertness
• attention span
• cognitive inhibition
• executive function

In this stage, the effects of sleep deprivation are similar to being under the influence of alcohol to the point where it isn’t safe for you to drive.

• After 36 hours: Stage 2

When you skip 36 hours of sleep, you will feel an overpowering desire to sleep. This is called sleep pressure.

In addition to the symptoms of 24 hours of sleep deprivation, you may notice an increased hunger and intense fatigue

You may also begin to experience microsleeps, or brief moments of sleep, without recognizing it. Microsleep typically lasts a few seconds.

After 24 hours of sleep deprivation, research has shown that you may begin to hallucinate. This happens when you see, hear, or experience things that aren’t there.

• After 48 hours: Stage 3

Missing sleep for 48 hours is known as extreme sleep deprivation. At this point, it will be even harder to stay awake. You’re more likely to have microsleeps.

Other possible effects include: depersonalization, anxiety, perceptual distortions, increased irritability,
temporal disorientation.

• After 72 hours: Stage 4

After 3 days of sleep loss, your urge to sleep will get worse. You may experience more frequent, longer microsleeps.

The sleep deprivation will significantly impair your perception. Your hallucinations might become more complex. You may also have: complex hallucinations, delusions, disordered thinking.

• After 96 hours or more: Stage 5

After 72 hours, your perception of reality will be severely distorted, resembling acute psychosis. Your urge for sleep will also feel unbearable.

These symptoms will go away once you get enough sleep.

How sleep deprivation is diagnosed and tested

• Sleep study/Polysomnography: A sleep study registers your body’s shifts between the stages of sleep, which are rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep. Non-REM sleep is divided into “light sleep” and “deep sleep” phases.

• Maintenance of wakefulness test (MWT): This test determines whether or not a person can avoid falling asleep in settings where it is easy to do so. It is a standard aspect of safety testing for those who drive for a living and may have disorders such as sleep apnea.

• Actigraphy: This test involves wearing a device similar to a watch that tracks sleep patterns to see if you may have a different sleep cycle than is typical. This is key in diagnosing circadian rhythm disorders.

• Multiple sleep latency test (MSLT): This test examines whether a person is prone to falling asleep during the daytime. It’s often a key part of diagnosing narcolepsy.

• Electroencephalogram (EEG): This test detects and records brain waves. Your healthcare provider, usually a neurologist, can examine your brain activity for signs of unusual brain activity that could contribute to sleep problems or other conditions.