Sleep Deprivation Symptoms

Who does not like a nice nap in the afternoon or a peaceful sleep at night? Well, everybody does, but unfortunately there are people who are deprived of this heavenly happiness. Sleep deprivation can either be a sleep disorder where the person wants to have a hearty sleep but cannot simply do so due to some or the other reason. Sleep deprivation can sometimes be a choice(!), in case a person simply does not want to sleep.

When asked about the idea of sleep deprivation, most medical practitioners define it as the lack of adequate amount of sleep. An average adult needs about seven to nine hours of sound and peaceful sleep, in order to function properly and also keep his/her body functions running healthily. More on hours of sleep needed. There are several different types of sleeping disorders. They can be classified into medical and psychological.

Causes of Sleep Deprivation

The medical sleeping disorders are the ones that are caused as a result of medical conditions such as menopause, insomnia or any kind of undetected medical disorder or disease. At times, sheer pain in the body prevents the person from falling asleep and the body exhibits symptoms of sleep deprivation.

The psychological causes include stress, nervousness and anxiety, worry, depression and jet lag. There are also a large number of psychological conditions that lead to the occurrence of these symptoms. Some of these psychological disorders include sleepwalking, Bruxism or delayed sleep phase syndrome. People who do not follow a regular pattern of sleep and waking up, are often victims of such psychological disorders. The symptoms, in such cases, are more physical in nature and tend to disrupt the bodily functions.

Sleep Deprivation Symptoms

Symptoms of sleep deprivation include, fatigue, irritation, inability to focus on the task at hand and clumsiness. These are the sleep derivation symptoms that you would notice the day after you have not had a good night's sleep. These symptoms are quite harmless if they occur once in a while. However, if they frequent, there is something definitely wrong and you need to consult a doctor.

Forced sleep deprivation basically affects the digestive, respiratory and nervous system. Thus, the first effect is that the metabolism of the person is affected. The changed rate of metabolism often results into diabetes, weight gain and obesity. As the sleep wake cycle is disrupted, the digestive system is not able to process food energy properly and it ends up storing most of the nutrients. Apart from diabetes and obesity, the person may also suffer from hypertension and have a very weak immune system.

Some symptoms also include aching muscles and headaches. The person may also experience dizziness and nausea. These symptoms further lead to increase in blood pressure that is characterized by hand tremors. The increase in blood pressure also leads to irritation and short term memory loss. If these symptoms are observed for a very long time, it might eventually lead to diabetes, insomnia, hypertension, digestive problems and even psychological and nervous disorders.

When you do not sleep properly, be it because of work, stress or addictions, your body starts getting used to this abnormal sleep wake cycle. and you begin to experience most of the physical symptoms, mentioned above. This might sound harmless, but it is detrimental to the overall health of an individual. May nothing deprive you of the pleasure of a sound sleep.