How Sleep Affects People's Lives Essay

Sleep is vital in a person's life as it is the time that the body and the mind can fully rest. Further, it is recommended that everyone should engage in the activity whether they do want to or not to perform daily activities effectively. According to scientists, an individual should sleep at least 7-8 hours per day to feel fully relaxed. Most of the babies spend most of their time sleeping, especially when they are comfortable after having their meals. Nevertheless, a study has revealed that around 66% of the people have a sleeping problem where they experience lack of sleep. Most individuals are not informed that having no sleep is harmful and can significantly affect their lives on a day to day basis. Various issues arise that can be related to the matter such as the health of the brain, which is risky to a person. The paper aims to discuss how sleep affects people's lives. Moreover, it will also investigate how enough sleep affects individuals and compare the two situations of enough sleep and lack of sleep with the help of examples and explanations.

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The lack of sleep can be termed as sleep deprivation. It can be long-term and has harmful effects, which can cause one to have reduced performance. There are signs, which can be identified to diagnose that one is suffering from sleep deprivation; it includes excessive yawning (Pietrangelo and Stephanie par. 3). Also, a person feels daytime fatigue and restlessness since his/her body is not relaxed or calm due to uneasiness. Moreover, one may experience irritability where he/she is not comfortable and cannot focus and concentrate on the activity being done. The other symptom is excessive sleepiness, which is caused by not getting enough sleep. The individual will try to sleep so that he or she can recover the sleep that they did not have. Furthermore, sleep deprivation has adverse effects on the person's internal system, which one can experience more than the signs. The central nervous system regulates the passage of information in the body, but without enough sleep, the flow is disrupted. When a person is sleeping, new pathways between nerves cells are formed, which help one to remember any new knowledge that he/she has learned (Sparacino par. 3). However, for a person who is sleep deprived, the brain is exhausted, and it becomes difficult to learn the new information (Perry par. 11). Besides, any signals that the body sends are delayed. Thus, the coordination of different body parts in the body becomes decreased, and a person becomes prone to accidents.

The lack of sleep also affects the mental abilities of a person. The judgment of a person that has not had enough sleep is affected and cannot be effective in making decisions (Pietrangelo and Stephanie par. 7). However, a person that has had enough sleep has a sound mind and can make the right decisions and judgment (Sparacino par 5). Also, the creativity level of a person is affected, and people who do not have enough sleep are mostly not creative since they are sluggish and their thinking capacity is limited. Furthermore, the immune system significantly relies on how much sleep one has. During sleep, the body produces substances that are responsible for the protection and fighting off infections, which are referred to as cytokines. Nevertheless, lack of sleep prevents the immune system from producing the cytokines. Thus, the person is not able to recover from illnesses (Pietrangelo and Stephanie par. 7). Most of the people experiencing sleep deprivation end up having heart diseases and diabetes. It is because their body is not able to produce the materials that can protect their body.

Additionally, two sleep disorders are prevalent among American adults, which include apnea and insomnia. According to the CDC, 1 out of 3 adults does not have enough sleep (Pietrangelo and Stephanie par. 1). Lack of sleep has greatly affected productivity, medical errors and has caused car accidents. It can also cause seizures, which was shown in a study that the individuals who were admitted to a hospital stayed up all night so that they can take a nap. Patients that participated in the research were tasked to identify pictures as fast as they could. As the night advanced, they got drowsier, and their identification of pictures reduced, as well as their neural activity (Perry par. 13). Also, the people appeared sluggish to make judgments. The brain is the part of the body that relies on how much sleep one gets. Researchers have tried to understand the mechanism involved which they contribute to the neurons.

Some benefits are considered when a person has enough sleep, which further demonstrates that having an adequate sleep is essential. It is a daily requirement that each should set out time to be healthy. Sleep helps to improve the memory of a person. A report shows that before learning something new, it is advisable to sleep then start the process of understanding the activity. Furthermore, a study reveals that an individual can live longer if she or he has enough sleep daily. Also, it showed that women from the age of 50 to 80 died more because they did not get enough sleep (Pietrangelo and Stephanie par. 9). The research showed that they had five to six hours nap per night. During the day, they felt exhausted, and the activities they performed were averagely done compared to others who had eight hours. Moreover, to be fit does not necessarily mean it only constitutes diet but it also involves having a great sleep. When one is having a nap, the dieters found that the fat in the body becomes reduced and more muscle mass is lost. Additionally, sleep and metabolism controllers are located at the same place in the brain (Perry par. 11). Therefore, it is necessary to observe the two adequately to be healthy.

On the other hand, having too much sleep is also harmful to the body. It is advisable not to overdo it since it poses one to the risk of getting heart disease. In the United States, around 34% of the people suffer the illnesses, and it has been found that it is contributed by sleeping for less than 8 hours (Rachel par. 3). Moreover, women are more at risk of sleeping longer than men, therefore, they are at risk of developing cardiovascular problems. The more a person sleeps, the more his or her brain becomes inactive. Consequently, the individual is not able to perform daily activities and ends up being lazy. Sleeping is meant to have moderation and overdoing it leads to people having mood swings, which further causes depression. People often have naps when they are depressed but extending it can cause it to increase. Additionally, according to epidemiologic studies, individuals who sleep a lot are likely to die prematurely (Rachel par. 9). But the ones with regular sleeping patterns live longer. It has been contributed to the risk of developing heart diseases and diabetes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is essential to develop a proper sleeping pattern. Sleep has significant effects on people, and most of them determine the health status that one has. Having a regular sleep allows one to be attentive and concentrate on what he or she does. Also, it makes one's immune system develop more and make the body resistant to infections. However, lack of sleep makes one develop heart diseases, diabetes, become sick more as their immune system is weak. Also, the learning capability of a person becomes reduced, and the person becomes less focused on what they are involved in. Sleep deprivation has caused accidents. On the other hand, too much sleep is harmful to the health of an individual which causes one to be at the risk of becoming obese and dying prematurely.

Works Cited

Perry, Philip. "Why Lack of Sleep Has a Deleterious Effect on the Brain." Big Think, Philip Perry, 10 Nov. 2017, www.bigthink.com/philip-perry/how-sleep-deprivation-leads-to-mental-sluggishness.

Pietrangelo, Ann, and Stephanie Watson. "11 Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Your Body." Healthline, Healthline Media. Retrieved from www.healthline.com/health/sleep-deprivation/effects-on-body#1.

Rachel, Ellis Reiff. "6 Bad Things That Happen When You Sleep Too Much." Prevention, Prevention, 26 June 2017, HYPERLINK "http://www.prevention.com/health/6-bad-things-that-happen-when-you-sleep-too-much" www.prevention.com/health/6-bad-things-that-happen-when-you-sleep-too-much.

Sparacino, Alyssa. "11 Surprising Health Benefits of Sleep." Health, 4 March 2018. Retrieved from www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20459221,00.html.