Sleep Deprivation
Psychology journalist Allison Robinson describes what sleep deprivation can do to the body and brain in her informative article.
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Sleep Deprivation in Teenagers
Sleep Deprivation in Teenagers
By Allison Robinson
Students spend long nights studying, sometimes even into the early morning. However, sleep is an important process upon which everyone's body is dependent. Losing sleep can greatly affect one’s mental health, study habits, and physical health.
Sleep, or the periodic, natural loss of consciousness as described by psychologist and author David G. Myers, makes up about ⅓ of peoples’ lives. It is an important part of health, as it allows the body to recharge, refreshes alertness, and helps the body fight off disease.
Sleep debt often happens with students. According to researchers at Healthline, the average amount of sleep needed is about seven hours. When sleep is forfeited, the body acquires sleep debt - the amount of sleep that needs to be made up. In one study described by Myers, people that stayed awake and received a lower-than-average amount of sleep kept sleep debt for around two weeks or until made up. When this sleep debt is not made up, both physical and mental changes can be observed. Many people try to override this sleep debt and try to fit more into their day by replacing sleep with caffeine, fighting off their body’s effort to rest. According to Dr. Natalie Olsen with Healthline, the drug may stimulate the nervous system to keep one awake, but it is addictive and can increase anxiety. Only through sleep can sleep debt be repaid.
Sleep disorders are often, but not always, associated with mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. One reason for this is that a lack of sleep causes hormone levels to become off-balanced. When sleep is not a frequent occurrence, these hormonal changes can cause depression and anxiety.
Hormonal level changes due to lack of sleep also affect the body physically. Myers describes that weight gain is one of the most common and most noticeable effects. Ghrelin, the hunger-arousing hormone, increases with sleep debt while leptin, the hunger-suppressing hormone, decreases as sleep debt increases. Stress hormones also increase.
Along with weight gain, an imbalance of hormone levels suppresses immune cells. Viruses like the common cold and influenza are more likely to infect those that are sleep deprived. The central nervous system also becomes disrupted and affects the sending and processing of information. Concentration levels can significantly decrease, neural pathways that create memories become more difficult to make, and it is harder to focus thinking.
Sleep is an important natural tool for the human body to function. When sleep is forfeited, people are more likely to experience chronic sleep deprivation and, in turn, are plagued by physical and mental infirmities.
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