Sleep deprivation (सोने का अभाव), also known as sleep insufficiency or sleeplessness, is the condition of not having adequate duration and/or quality of sleep to support decent alertness, performance, and health. It can be either chronic or acute and may vary widely in severity. The average adult needs seven or more hours of sleep per night to maintain health. The amount of sleep needed can depend on sleep quality, age, pregnancy, and level of sleep deprivation. Insufficient sleep has been linked to weight gain, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, heart disease, and strokes. Sleep deprivation can also lead to high anxiety, irritability, erratic behavior, poor cognitive functioning and performance, and psychotic episodes.
What is Sleep deprivation?
Sleep deprivation is when a person doesn’t get enough sleep. This can be a short-term issue, affecting one or a few nights, or it can be a chronic concern that lasts weeks or even months. Sleep deprivation can happen for countless reasons, many of them harmless, but it’s also a key symptom of certain health conditions.
What is the difference between sleep deprivation and insomnia?
Insomnia and sleep deprivation are closely related but aren’t the same thing. Insomnia is when you’re unable to sleep when you try. Sleep deprivation is what happens when you don’t give yourself enough time to sleep, don’t get enough sleep, or both.
Conditions that can get worse or happen because of Sleep deprivation
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.
Symptoms of Sleep deprivation
The primary signs of sleep deprivation include excessive daytime sleepiness and daytime impairment such as reduced concentration, slower thinking, and mood changes.
Feeling extremely tired during the day is one of the hallmark symptoms of sleep deprivation. People with excessive daytime sleepiness may feel drowsy and have a hard time staying awake even when they need to. In some cases, this results in microsleeps in which a person dozes off for a few seconds.
Feelings during waking hours
Insufficient sleep can directly affect how a person feels during waking hours. Examples of these symptoms include:
- Slowed thinking,
- Reduced attention span,
- Worsened memory,
- Poor or risky decision-making,
- Lack of energy, and
- Mood changes.
A person’s symptoms can depend on the extent of their sleep deprivation and whether it is acute or chronic. Stimulants like caffeine can also mask the symptoms of sleep deprivation, so it is important to note how you feel on and off these substances.
Sleep deprivation Causes
Insomnia
Insomnia, one of the six types of dyssomnia, affects 21–37% of the adult population. Many of its symptoms are easily recognizable, including excessive daytime sleepiness; frustration or worry about sleep; problems with attention, concentration, or memory; extreme mood changes or irritability; lack of energy or motivation; poor performance at school or work; and tension headaches or stomach aches.
Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea is a serious disorder that has symptoms of both insomnia and sleep deprivation, among other symptoms like excessive daytime sleepiness, abrupt awakenings, and difficulty concentrating. Obstructive sleep apnea is often caused by the collapse of the upper airway during sleep, which reduces airflow to the lungs. Those with sleep apnea may experience symptoms such as awakening gasping or choking, restless sleep, morning headaches, morning confusion or irritability, and restlessness.
This disorder affects 1 to 10 percent of Americans. It has many serious health outcomes if untreated. .
Voluntary
Sleep deprivation can sometimes be self-imposed due to a lack of desire to sleep or the habitual use of stimulant drugs. Sleep deprivation is also self-imposed to achieve personal fame in the context of record-breaking stunts.
Mental illness
The specific causal relationships between sleep loss and effects on psychiatric disorders have been most extensively studied in patients with mood disorders. Shifts into mania in bipolar patients are often preceded by periods of insomnia, and sleep deprivation has been shown to induce a manic state in about 30% of patients.
Sleep deprivation may represent a final common pathway in the genesis of mania, and manic patients usually have a continuously reduced need for sleep.
School
The US National Sleep Foundation cites a 1996 paper showing that college/university-aged students got an average of fewer than 6 hours of sleep each night.
A 2018 study highlights the need for a good night’s sleep for students finding that college students who averaged eight hours of sleep for the five nights of finals week scored higher on their final exams than those who didn’t.
Caffeine
Consumption of caffeine in large quantities can have negative effects on one’s sleep cycle. While there are short-term performance benefits to caffeine consumption, overuse can lead to insomnia symptoms or worsen pre-existing insomnia. Consuming caffeine to stay awake at night may lead to sleeplessness, anxiety, frequent nighttime awakenings, and overall poorer sleep quality.
Hospital stay
A study performed nationwide in the Netherlands found that general ward patients staying at the hospital experienced shorter total sleep (83 min. less), more night-time awakenings, and earlier awakenings compared to sleeping at home. Over 70% experienced being woken up by external causes, such as hospital staff (35.8%).
Internet
A study published in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organisation found that broadband internet connection was associated with sleep deprivation. The study concluded that people with a broadband connection tend to sleep 25 minutes less than those without a broadband connection, hence they are less likely to get the scientifically recommended 7–9 hours of sleep.
Another study conducted on 435 non-medical staff at King Saud University Medical City reported that 9 out of 10 of the respondents used their smartphones at bedtime, with social media being the most used service (80.5%). The study found participants who spent more than 60 minutes using their smartphones at bedtime were 7.4 times more likely to have poor sleep quality than participants who spent less than 15 minutes.
Effects and consequences of Sleep deprivation
Brain’s ability
Temporary
One study suggested, based on neuroimaging, that 35 hours of total sleep deprivation in healthy controls negatively affected the brain‘s ability to put an emotional event into the proper perspective and make a controlled, suitable response to the event.
The negative effects of sleep deprivation on alertness and cognitive performance suggest decreases in brain activity and function. These changes primarily occur in two regions: the thalamus, a structure involved in alertness and attention; and the prefrontal cortex, a region sub-serving alertness, attention, and higher-order cognitive processes.
Lasting
Studies on rodents show that response to neuronal injury is due to acute sleep deprivation and is adaptative before 3 hours of sleep loss per night and becomes maladaptive and apoptosis occurs after. Studies in mice show neuronal deaths occur after 2 days of REM sleep deprivation.
Such histological studies cannot be performed on humans for ethical reasons, but long-term studies study shows that sleep quality is more associated with grey matter volume reduction than age, occurring in areas like the precuneus.
Attention and working memory
Among the possible physical consequences of sleep deprivation, deficits in attention and working memory are perhaps the most important; such lapses in mundane routines can lead to unfortunate results, from forgetting ingredients while cooking to missing a sentence while taking notes.
The attentional lapses also extend into more critical domains in which the consequences can be life-or-death; car crashes and industrial disasters can result from inattentiveness attributable to sleep deprivation.
Mood
Sleep deprivation can have a negative impact on mood. Staying up all night or taking an unexpected night shift can make one feel irritable. Once one catches up on sleep, one’s mood will often return to baseline or normal. Even partial sleep deprivation can have a significant impact on mood. In one study, subjects reported increased sleepiness, fatigue, confusion, tension, and total mood disturbance, which all recovered to their baseline after one to two full nights of sleep.
Depression and sleep are in a bidirectional relationship. Poor sleep can lead to the development of depression and depression can cause insomnia, hypersomnia, or obstructive sleep apnea. About 75% of adult patients with depression can present with insomnia. Sleep deprivation, whether total or not, can induce significant anxiety, and longer sleep deprivations tend to result in an increased level of anxiety.
Driving ability
The dangers of sleep deprivation are apparent on the road; the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) reports that one in every five serious motor vehicle injuries is related to driver fatigue, with 80,000 drivers falling asleep behind the wheel every day and 250,000 accidents every year related to sleep.
Though the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration suggests the figure for traffic accidents may be closer to 100,000. The AASM recommends pulling off the road and taking a 15- or 20-minute nap to alleviate drowsiness.
Sleep transition
SP (Sleep propensity) can be defined as the readiness to transition from wakefulness to sleep, or the ability to stay asleep if already sleeping. Sleep deprivation increases this propensity, which can be measured by polysomnography (PSG), as a reduction in sleep latency (the time needed to fall asleep).
An indicator of sleep propensity can also be seen in the shortening of transition from light stages of non-REM sleep to deeper slow-wave oscillations can also be measured as an indicator of sleep propensity.
Sleep-wake cycle
People aged 18 to 64 need seven to nine hours of sleep per night. Research studying sleep deprivation shows its impact on mood, cognitive, and motor functioning, due to dysregulation of the sleep-wake cycle and augmented sleep propensity.
Multiple studies that identified the role of the hypothalamus and multiple neural systems controlling circadian rhythms and homeostasis have been helpful in understanding sleep deprivation better. To describe the temporal course of the sleep-wake cycle, the two-process model of sleep regulation can be mentioned.
Microsleeps
Microsleeps are periods of brief sleep that most frequently occur when a person has a significant level of sleep deprivation. Microsleeps usually last for a few seconds, usually no longer than 15 seconds, and happen most frequently when a person is trying to stay awake when they are feeling sleepy.
The person usually falls into microsleep while doing a monotonous task like driving, reading a book, or staring at a computer. Microsleeps are similar to blackouts and a person experiencing them is not consciously aware that they are occurring.
Cardiovascular morbidity
Decreased sleep duration is associated with many adverse cardiovascular consequences. The American Heart Association has stated that sleep restriction is a risk factor for adverse cardiometabolic profiles and outcomes. The organization recommends healthy sleep habits for ideal cardiac health along with other well-known factors like:
- Blood pressure,
- Cholesterol,
- Diet,
- Glucose,
- Weight,
- Smoking, and
- Physical activity.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted that adults who sleep less than 7 hours per day are more likely to have chronic health conditions including heart attack, coronary heart disease, and stroke compared to those with an adequate amount of sleep.
Immunosuppression
Among the myriad health consequences that sleep deprivation can cause, disruption of the immune system is one of them. While it is not clearly understood, researchers believe that sleep is essential to providing sufficient energy for the immune system to work and allow the inflammation to take place during sleep. Also, just as sleep can reinforce memory in a person’s brain, it can help consolidate the memory of the immune system or adaptive immunity.
People who sleep less than 6 hours a night are more prone to infection and are more likely to catch a cold or flu. A lack of sleep can also prolong the recovery time in patients in the intensive care unit (ICU).
Weight gain
A lack of sleep can cause an imbalance in several hormones that are critical in weight gain. Sleep deprivation increases the level of ghrelin (hunger hormone) and decreases the level of leptin (fullness hormone), resulting in an increased feeling of hunger and desire for high-calorie foods.
Sleep loss is also associated with decreased growth hormone and elevated cortisol levels, which are connected to obesity. People who do not get sufficient sleep can also feel sleepy and fatigued during the day and get less exercise. Obesity can cause poor sleep quality as well. Individuals who are overweight or obese can experience obstructive sleep apnea, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), depression, asthma, and osteoarthritis which all can disrupt a good night’s sleep.
Type 2 diabetes
Researchers suspect that sleep deprivation affects insulin, cortisol, and oxidative stress, which subsequently influence blood sugar levels. Sleep deprivation can increase the level of ghrelin and decrease the level of leptin. People who get insufficient amounts of sleep are more likely to crave food in order to compensate for the lack of energy. This habit can raise blood sugar and put them at risk of obesity and diabetes.
Other effects
The National Sleep Foundation identifies several warning signs that a driver is dangerously fatigued. These include rolling down the window, turning up the radio, trouble keeping eyes open, head-nodding, drifting out of their lane, and daydreaming. At particular risk are lone drivers between midnight and 6:00 am.
Sleep deprivation mimics
Twenty-four hours of continuous sleep deprivation results in the choice of less difficult math tasks without decreases in subjective reports of effort applied to the task. Naturally caused sleep loss affects the choice of everyday tasks such that low-effort tasks are most commonly selected. Adolescents who experience less sleep show a decreased willingness to engage in sports activities that require effort through fine motor coordination and attention to detail.
Great sleep deprivation mimics psychosis: distorted perceptions can lead to inappropriate emotional and behavioral responses.
Sleep deprivation may facilitate
Generally, sleep deprivation may facilitate or intensify:
- Aching muscles,
- Confusion, memory lapses, or loss,
- Depression,
- Development of false memory,
- Hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations during falling asleep and waking, are entirely normal,
- Hand tremor,
- Headaches,
- Malaise,
- Style,
- Periorbital puffiness, commonly known as “bags under the eyes” or eye bags,
- Increased blood pressure,
- High-stress hormone levels,
- Increased risk of Type 2 diabetes,
- Lowering immunity, and increased susceptibility to illness,
- Increased risk of fibromyalgia,
- Irritability,
- Nystagmus (rapid involuntary rhythmic eye movement),
- Obesity,
- Seizures,
- Temper tantrums in children,
- Violent behavior,
- Yawning,
- Mania, and
- Sleep inertia.
Sleep deprivation Management
Healthier sleep habits
Although there are numerous causes of sleep deprivation, there are some fundamental measures that promote quality sleep as suggested by organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of Health, the National Institute of Aging, and the American Academy of Family Physicians. The key is to implement healthier sleep habits, also known as sleep hygiene.
Sleep hygiene recommendations include:
- Setting a fixed sleep schedule,
- Taking naps with caution,
- Maintaining a sleep environment that promotes sleep,
- Comfortable mattress and pillows,
- Exercising daily,
- Avoiding alcohol, cigarette smoking, caffeine, and heavy meals in the evening,
- Winding down and avoiding electronic use or physical activities close to bedtime, and
- Getting out of bed if unable to fall asleep.
Cognitive behavioral therapy for Insomnia
For long-term involuntary sleep deprivation, cognitive behavioral therapy for Insomnia (CBT-i) is commonly recommended as a first-line treatment, after the exclusion of physical diagnosis (sleep apnea). CBT-i contains five different components:
- Cognitive therapy,
- Stimulus control,
- Sleep restriction,
- Sleep hygiene, and
- Relaxation.
Use of Caffeine
There are several strategies that help increase alertness and counteract the effects of sleep deprivation. Caffeine is often used over short periods to boost wakefulness when acute sleep deprivation is experienced; however, caffeine is less effective if taken routinely.
Other strategies recommended by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine include prophylactic sleep before deprivation, naps, other stimulants, and combinations thereof. However, the only sure and safe way to combat sleep deprivation is to increase nightly sleep time.
Sleep deprivation Uses
To facilitate abusive control
Sleep deprivation can be used to disorientate abuse victims to help set them up for abusive control.
Interrogation
Sleep deprivation can be used as a means of interrogation, which has resulted in court trials over whether or not the technique is a form of torture.
Interrogation technique
Under one interrogation technique, a subject might be kept awake for several days and when finally allowed falling asleep, suddenly awakened and questioned. Menachem Begin, the Prime Minister of Israel from 1977 to 1983, described his experience of sleep deprivation as a prisoner of the NKVD in the Soviet Union as follows:
In the head of the interrogated prisoner, a haze begins to form. His spirit is wearied to death, his legs are unsteady, and he has one sole desire: to sleep… Anyone who has experienced this desire knows that not even hunger and thirst are comparable with it.
Techniques used by the British government
Sleep deprivation was one of the five techniques used by the British government in the 1970s. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that the five techniques “did not occasion suffering of the particular intensity and cruelty implied by the word torture … [but] amounted to a practice of inhuman and degrading treatment”, in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Treating depression
Studies show that sleep restriction has some potential in treating depression. Those with depression tend to have earlier occurrences of REM sleep with an increased number of rapid eye movements; therefore, monitoring patients’ EEG and awakening them during occurrences of REM sleep appears to have a therapeutic effect, alleviating depressive symptoms.
Treating insomnia
Sleep deprivation can be implemented for a short period of time in the treatment of insomnia. Some common sleep disorders have been shown to respond to cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia is a multi-component process that is composed of stimulus control therapy, sleep restriction therapy (SRT), and sleep hygiene therapy.
Military training
Sleep deprivation is pivotal in training games such as “Keep in Memory” exercises where personnel practice memorizing everything they can while under intense stress physically and mentally and being able to describe in as much detail as they can remember what they remember seeing days later.
Siddha remedies for Sleep deprivation
1. Siddha Preventive Measures
Everybody must practice Siddha preventive measures, whether affected by Sleep deprivation or not, but they are the primary steps for switching on to any other Siddha energy remedies, and hence they are important. It helps in one’s capability, effectiveness, productivity, decision-making power, intellectualism, and removing minor health problems.
Earthing, Field Cleaning, and Siddha Brain Exercise/Energizing are three types of preventive measures. Everybody’s tendency is to get attracted toward the word ‘free‘, however, don’t neglect even these Siddha preventive measures are free. Avail of the benefits by practicing them regularly. For ease of understanding of Siddha preventive measures, please watch a video for a live demonstration.
2. Siddha Shaktidata Yog for Sleep deprivation
This unique Siddha Shaktidata Yog can solve problems related to Sleep deprivation with free Siddha energy remedies. Training in ‘Swami Hardas Life System’ methods is not a compulsion, but it would help achieve faster results. This not only gives benefits to self but also can be used for other affected persons, whether a person is in the same house, distantly available in the same city, same nation, or maybe in the corner of the world, however, both procedures have been explained here.
3. Siddha Kalyan Sadhana
Recite this Sadhana with a Sankalp “My Sleep deprivation problems are solved as early as possible and I should gain health”, which should be repeated in mind 3 – 3 times after each stanza. Any person irrespective of caste, creed, religion, faith, sex, and age can recite this Sadhana for free, which should be repeated at least twice a day. To know more about it, please click on this link.
4. CCPE products for Sleep deprivation
These products work on the concepts of ‘Conceptual Creative Positive Energy’ (CCPE) within the provisions of ‘CCPE Life System’ and the theory of Quantum Technology to a certain extent. However, the products get activated only whenever touched by a human and then they become capable of solving the problem and achieving health.
The use of CCPE products, being Energy Therapy, is one of the most effective free Siddha energy remedies for persons, who could not undergo training in Siddha Spirituality of Swami Hardas Life System. However, please use these products for Sleep deprivation problems as mentioned below:
CCPE Extractor
The CCPE Extractor should be gently moved over the Agya Chakra in a circular motion at least for 30 to 60 seconds, thereafter, follow the same process on the head for another 30 to 60 seconds, which will convert negativity into positivity. This is how the process of using extractor finishes within almost 2 – 3 minutes. It is so simple.
CCPE Booster
Keep one Booster over the Agya Chakra and another over the head for 3 to 5 minutes. You may need to have 2 Boosters and the process would finish within almost 3 – 5 minutes, which establishes positivity. This is how the process of using CCPE Booster finishes within almost 3 – 5 minutes. It is so simple.
Wrapping boosters in a thin cloth and tying them around the head overnight to achieve faster results is permissible but after the use of the CCPE Extractor as explained above.
5. UAM for Sleep deprivation
UAM (Understanding, Awakening & Movement): It is an energy-based process that can be applied by persons who have undergone training for touch therapy. One should have attended a minimum age of 18 years to avail of this golden opportunity. A desirous person can undergo training-process irrespective of caste, creed, religion, faith, and sex. Trained persons can follow the tips explained below for how to apply these free Siddha energy remedies:
- Touch therapy – UAM/leveling as per the symptoms of the disease
- Distant therapy – Siddha Shaktidata Yog, Sight healing
- Sankalp therapy – Siddha Kalyan Sadhana, Vishwa Kalyan Sadhana
- Energy therapy – Use of CCPE products e.g. CCPE Extractor, Booster, and Booster powder
- There are various reasons behind health, peace, and progress-related problems, but effective free Siddha energy remedies would help solve all of them.
Training of Swami Hardas Life System
Any problem with regard to health, peace, and progress can be solved independently without money and medicines by undergoing training in Swami Hardas Life System. Any person irrespective of religion, caste, creed, faith, sex, and age can undergo this unique training.
A daily routine for Parasomnia
In general, a daily routine to manage the problem may look like this:
- Perform Siddha Preventive Measures in the morning soon after you wake up
- After taking a bath, do brain exercise (energizing), and Siddha Kalyan Sadhana
- Do regular breathing exercises
- With the help of CCPE Extractor, Boosters apply the remedy as explained above
- Do light exercises routinely
- Adopt the Sattvik diet in your daily life
- Follow healthy lifestyle
- Before going to bed, repeat Siddha Kalyan Sadhana and remedies as suggested
And be sure to sprinkle in some fun during the day: Don’t forget to relax and laugh in between. Laughing is a great way to boost your immune system.
Along with all the above activities, apply free Siddha energy remedies minimum 3 times a day, the more is good. Just try methods of Siddha Spirituality of Swami Hardas Life System, and I am confident that you will surely find improvements within 15 days.
Conclusion
In view of the above, I am confident that you have learned the basics of Sleep deprivation, its meaning, symptoms, causes, effects, diagnosis, treatment, and Siddha remedies without money and medicines. As a bonus, you also learned free Siddha energy remedies. Now is the right time to use acquired knowledge for solving related problems for free. Hence, please undergo training, learn Siddha energy remedies, and apply them instantly to get or give instant relief to the needy.
Frequently asked questions
Before posting your query, kindly go through the:
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What is the meaning of Sleep deprivation? Sleep deprivation is when a person doesn’t get enough sleep. This can be a short-term issue, affecting one or a few nights, or it can be a chronic concern that lasts weeks or even months. Sleep deprivation can happen for countless reasons, many of them harmless, but it’s also a key symptom of certain health conditions. |
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Which are the conditions worsened due to Sleep deprivation? 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. |
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How to manage Sleep deprivation? The key is to implement healthier sleep habits, also known as sleep hygiene. |
Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_deprivation