Lack of sleep accumulates and negatively affects cognitive abilities, causing symptoms such as daytime sleepiness and increasing the risk of falling asleep during activities like driving. Many Americans lack sleep by about an hour each night, and catching up on weekends is not enough. A paid plan of at least eight hours of sleep each night is suggested, but systemic changes may be necessary to allow for regular and adequate sleep.
When humans suffer from sleep debt, it means they are not getting enough sleep on a regular basis. Lack of sufficient sleep accumulates and results in negative effects on cognitive abilities. It also causes known symptoms such as daytime sleepiness, and if sleep deprivation is significant, it can cause serious risks, where people fall asleep even when engaging in activities such as driving. Some people experience a few days of sleep debt, but are able to replenish this debt with a return to normal sleep patterns, although the effects may still be felt on days when sleep was poor and for a few days afterward. Others have a constant sleep debt, which can continue to build up, creating more cognitive problems and a greater risk of falling asleep at any moment.
The average adult requires about eight hours of sleep a night, while children and adolescents need more. Studies show that many Americans lack sleep by about an hour each night, and the deprivation is more significant with certain groups, such as American teenagers, college students, mid-shift workers, and those training to be doctors. The normal lack of sufficient sleep can start to build up a heavy sleep debt that is not fully remedied by trying to sleep more on the weekends to “catch up”.
Some of the symptoms of sleep debt include sleepiness during waking hours, reduced activity levels, and lowered ability to perform. With a huge sleep debt, people may find they have more cognitive errors and may be more forgetful or learn at a slower pace. It increases the risk of conditions such as high blood pressure and obesity.
It gets worse when sufferers of the condition find that they literally fall asleep during waking hours and may even do so while engaging in activities that require alertness, such as driving. There are many documented cases of people falling asleep at the wheel and resulting in fatal or fatal accidents. Finally, there is a link between poor sleep and depression, and higher debt can make you more likely to suffer from depression.
Medical experts suggest there is no quick way to pay off sleep debt. Instead, people with the condition must start a paid plan, in which they get a minimum of eight hours of sleep each night. Getting more sleep on the weekends isn’t adequate for most people if they get little sleep during the week. The goal is to return to normal sleep patterns each day.
This suggestion is problematic because many people have such busy lives and can barely get enough sleep. The high school student, who requires ten hours of sleep a night, may not get it due to school demands and extracurricular activities. Adults often don’t get the sleep they need because their lives are overscheduled. Because so many suffer from sleep debt, a serious attempt to remedy it may involve systemic changes, where schools, employers and every individual work to streamline obligations so that there is room in life for regular and adequate sleep.
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