The short-term effects of sleep deprivation are bad enough, but the long-term effects can take a toll on your mental and physical health. Weight gain, weakened immunity, memory problems, mood changes, and increased risk of accidents are all severe sleep deprivation symptoms.
Although not considered a disease or illness, lack of sleep is a condition that could have harmful effects. Challenging life circumstances could lead you to experience sleep deprivation. Illness and underlying health issues could also prevent you from getting restorative and restful sleep.
Sleep deprivation not only effects how you feel the next day, it can also have an effect on your entire body. From weight gain to an early death, a lack of sleep can have a surprisingly serious ...
Sleep deprivation occurs when an individual receives an insufficient amount of sleep, typically less than seven to eight hours per night. Patients might experience acute sleep deprivation, in which they fail to obtain sufficient sleep for a few nights, and this could escalate to chronic sleep deprivation that continues for weeks, months, or years. ...
You may not need a great deal of recovery sleep to feel better. After acute sleep loss, a single night of 8 hours of sleep may be sufficient. In the setting of chronic sleep deprivation, sleep during the night may need to be lengthened, and additional naps during the day might also help.
The next option to treat sleep deprivation is the opposite of sleep: activity. Brief periods of activity may help you to stay more alert, especially when you are experiencing minor sleep deprivation. 2
Other stimulants that may relieve sleepiness include amphetamine, methylphenidate (Ritalin), and modafinil (Provigil). 10
Many environmental factors can counteract the effects of sleep loss, working to activate our brain's arousal system. Some are obvious and others may surprise you. Hopefully, you will discover a way to address your sleep deprivation that will prevent serious consequences from a common complaint. 1.
If you find yourself feeling sleepy despite adequate hours of rest, consider evaluation by a board-certified sleep medicine physician. And always remember: Never drive drowsy. Don't start driving if you are sleep deprived and pull over if you feel sleepy while on the road. It is simply not worth the risk.
The impact may be most helpful when at least some of the members of the group are well rested. These group effects may be helpful in select situations, but the effects may wane as chronic sleep deprivation takes hold.
4 In addition, bright light may help you become more alert if you are sleep deprived.
Sleep problems for mothers begin as early as pregnancy, with many women never returning 12 to the blissful sleep they experienced before. Mothers who report very poor or drastically decreasing sleep quality during pregnancy 13 are more likely to develop postpartum depression.
Women with postpartum depression may feel overwhelmingly anxious, hopeless, and unable to get out of bed. These feelings last for longer than two weeks and are more severe than just the baby blues. They can also interfere with the ability to carry out day-to-day life.
Treating postpartum depression as early as possible is important in order to prevent it from becoming a long-term health problem.
However, some research has found that sleep quality 16 may be even more important than total sleep time when it comes to postpartum depression.
However, if you are experiencing any of these more serious symptoms, you may be suffering from postpartum depression:
In fact, fatigue 3 is one of the criteria that doctors normally consider when diagnosing depression. Knowing how to identify postpartum depression is important, as it’s a serious condition that may not go away on its own without proper treatment. A better understanding of the relation between sleep deprivation and postpartum depression can help you ...
While there are many factors at play, it does appear that sleep deprivation can exacerbate symptoms of postpartum depression. This is true for both parents, with research suggesting that both the mothers and the fathers 6 of young babies are more likely to have depressive symptoms if the mother sleeps poorly. Sleep deprivation is also linked to suicidal ideation 7 in women with postpartum depression.
You may not need a great deal of recovery sleep to feel better. After acute sleep loss, a single night of 8 hours of sleep may be sufficient. In the setting of chronic sleep deprivation, sleep during the night may need to be lengthened, and additional naps during the day might also help.
The next option to treat sleep deprivation is the opposite of sleep: activity. Brief periods of activity may help you to stay more alert, especially when you are experiencing minor sleep deprivation. 2
Other stimulants that may relieve sleepiness include amphetamine, methylphenidate (Ritalin), and modafinil (Provigil). 10
Many environmental factors can counteract the effects of sleep loss, working to activate our brain's arousal system. Some are obvious and others may surprise you. Hopefully, you will discover a way to address your sleep deprivation that will prevent serious consequences from a common complaint. 1.
If you find yourself feeling sleepy despite adequate hours of rest, consider evaluation by a board-certified sleep medicine physician. And always remember: Never drive drowsy. Don't start driving if you are sleep deprived and pull over if you feel sleepy while on the road. It is simply not worth the risk.
The impact may be most helpful when at least some of the members of the group are well rested. These group effects may be helpful in select situations, but the effects may wane as chronic sleep deprivation takes hold.
4 In addition, bright light may help you become more alert if you are sleep deprived.