Are you getting enough sleep?
Sleep Deprivation Effects
- Memory problems
- Depression
- Decreased immune system
- Increased perception of pain
- High blood pressure
- Adverse effect on cognition and performance
- 24 hours without sleep impairs you to the extent of or greater than if you are legally drunk (0.08% alcohol)
Facts
- Adults need an average 8.2 hours per 24 hours (infants 16, teenagers 9)
- Impairment occurs with as little as 2 hours of sleep lost
- Sleep debt occurs if get only 5 hours and as this accumulates your awareness of sleepiness declines
- Circadian timing of when you sleep is crucial
- sleep deprived individuals may not “feel” sleepy
Clinical Signs of Sleep Deprivation
- Irritability, moodiness, disinhibition
- Frontal lobe signs: apathy, impoverished speech,flat affect, impaired memory, inflexable thinking
- Intrusive sleepiness: microsleeps of 5-10 seconds, nodding off, hallucinations
56,000 motor vehicle accidents and 1,500 deaths per year are due to sleep deprived drivers.
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