Behavioral Effects of Sleep Deprivation

Get your free CPAP Assessment at https://CPAPtotalCare.com

There isn’t a clear definition of exactly how long a person must go without sleep, or how little sleep a person has to get to be considered sleep-deprived, and different people need different amounts of sleep, so there may be no universal definition of “sleep deprivation.” Rather, a person is considered sleep-deprived if they get less sleep than they need to feel awake and alert, researchers say.

According to Dr. Steven Feinsilver, the director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, sleep deprivation can lead to tremendous emotional problems. Many other bad things can happen to people who are deprived of sleep and it is important to study these conditions.

1. Microsleeps

As little as a single night of sleep deprivation can result in a person having a phenomenon called “microsleeps,” the next day, Feinsilver said.

A person begins to fall into mini-snooze sessions, which last up to 30 seconds. Some people’s eyes remain open during microsleeps, but the disturbing thing about microsleeps is that during sleep, the person is essentially blind, even if their eyes are open, Feinsilver said. They’re not processing information, he said.

Studies show that during microsleeps, the brain goes into a sleep state rapidly and uncontrollably. People can force themselves awake, but they will soon fall into another microsleep.

2. Delirium

People often say they feel loopy after a night of no sleep. But in more extreme cases, losing sleep may cause delirium. True delirium occurs when a person becomes completely disoriented, Feinsilver said. “Sleep can play a role in that,” he said. Patients who have been hospitalized in intensive care units — where lights and sounds may continue all day and night — can develop a condition that doctors call “ICU delirium”. And while it’s unclear if sleep deprivation is the cause of this delirium, doctors do think that loss of sleep is one reason people in the hospital for extended periods develop bizarre behavior.

3. Hallucinations

Seeing things that aren’t there can be a side effect of chronic sleep deprivation, but whether sleep deprivations can induce true hallucinations may be up for debate.

Feinsilver said he personally experienced hallucinations due to sleep deprivation, in October of his first year out of medical school. A newly minted medical resident, Feinsilver said he had been chronically sleep-deprived for several months.

4. Emotions askew

The problems can start on a somewhat minor scale. “Clearly, your brain doesn’t work very well when you’re sleep-deprived,” Feinsilver said. Even a low level of sleep deprivation has an impact on cognitive and emotional function. When people get sleep-deprived, they don’t show positive emotion in their faces. A sleep-deprived person may say they’re happy, but they still have a neutral face. This is the situation wherein a sleep-deprived brain may not be as capable of detecting positive emotions as a more rested brain.

THANK YOU! Get your free CPAP Assessment at https://CPAPtotalCare.com

Original Blog Post:

http://content.cpaptotalcare.com/behavioral-effects-of-sleep-deprivation/

Original Source:

http://www.livescience.com/52592-spooky-effects-sleep-deprivation.html