cause and effect essay

English 101
25 October 2013
Effects of Sleep Deprivation
Sleep is nourishment to the brain. During sleep, important body functions and brain activities occur. A lack of sleep can be very harmful to the body. Sleep deprivation can cause you to not get along with family or friends or perform poorly in the classroom or workplace. It can also be fatal. For example, drowsiness and falling asleep at the wheel causes more than 100,000 car crashes every year
(Teens and sleep). When a person does not get enough sleep he or she is more prone to accident, injury, and/or illness. Sleep deprivation affects the mind, body, and can cause, or increase the chances of contracting other health problems.
Sleep deprivation can result in a lack of critical functions inside the brain. Sleep takes a critical role in thinking and learning. Lack of sleep can have negative effects on the processes in many ways. It impairs attention, alertness, concentration, reasoning, problem solving, and makes it difficult to learn efficiently (10 surprising effects). Not getting enough sleep can also play a role in memory loss. During the night , various sleep cycles help in “consolidating” memories in the mind. Deep sleep fosters the formation of connections between cells, and REM sleep aids in memory formation (8 Effects of Sleep
Deprivation). If an individual doesn’t get enough sleep, he or she won 't be able to remember what they learned and experienced during the day. Lack of sleep may also cause people to forget other important information like names, number, homework assignments and dates of special events. Everyone needs sleep in order to retain important information and keep the brain working properly.

Sleep deprivation or lack of sleep can also lead to depression, moodiness, and a lower stress threshold. The most common sleep disorder, insomnia, has the strongest link to depression. In a 2005 sleep in america poll, people who were diagnosed with depression or anxiety were more likely to sleep less than six hours a night. In a 2007 study of 10,000 people, those with insomnia were five times as likely to develop depression as those without. In fact, insomnia is often one of the first symptoms of depression. Insomnia and depression feed on each other. Sleep loss often aggravates the symptoms of depression, and depression can make it more difficult to fall asleep. On the positive side, treating sleep problems can help depression and its symptoms, and vice versa. (10 Surprising Effects) sleep loss can also cause moodiness or mood swings. It can cause you to become less desirable among classmates, co workers, friends and family. Sleep deprivation can also cause a lower stress threshold. when you suffering from lack of sleep then all tasks throughout the day become harder to do. When you’re tired, routine activities, such as stopping at the grocery store on the way home from work, walking the dog or picking up the house can feel like overwhelming tasks (8 Effects of Sleep Deprivation). While everyone is accustomed to having a bad morning here and there – feeling irritable, unhappy or even sad, NSF 's
2006 Sleep in America poll found that many adolescents exhibit symptoms of a depressive mood on a frequent if not daily basis, and these teens are more likely to have sleep problems. The NSF poll calculated depressive mood scores for each of the 1,602 poll respondents by measuring adolescents ' responses to four mood states (using a scale of "1" to "3" where 1 equals "not at all" and 3 equals
"much"):Felt unhappy, sad or depressed; Felt hopeless about the future; Felt nervous or tense; and
Worried too much about things. Most notably, those adolescents with high scores ranging from 20 to 30 were more likely than those with lower scores to take longer to fall asleep on school nights, get an insufficient amount of sleep and have sleep problems related to sleepiness. In fact, 73% of those

adolescents who report feeling unhappy, sad, or depressed also report not getting enough sleep at night and being excessively sleepy during the day. (teens and sleep) Not enough sleep can cause anxiety also.
People who don 't get enough sleep tend to have more of an aggressive personality towards the people around them which can cause arguments and fights in schools and places of business. Getting more sleep can result in a better flowing day and less arguments or conflicts between the people in which an individual may come in contact with.
Sleep deprivation can also be a factor in other health problems as well. Sleep disorders and chronic sleep loss can put you at risk for Heart disease, heart attack, heart failure, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, stroke, and diabetes. According to some estimates, 90% of people with insomnia
­­ a sleep disorder characterized by trouble falling and staying asleep ­­ also have another health condition. Loss of sleep can also cause problems with eating healthy and gaining weight. Lack of sleep seems to be related to an increase in hunger and appetite, and possibly to obesity. According to a 2004 study, people who sleep less than six hours a day were almost 30 percent more likely to become obese than those who slept seven to nine hours.Recent research has focused on the link between sleep and the peptides that regulate appetite. “Ghrelin stimulates hunger and leptin signals satiety to the brain and suppresses appetite,” says Siebern. “Shortened sleep time is associated with decreases in leptin and elevations in ghrelin.” Not only does sleep loss appear to stimulate appetite. It also stimulates cravings for high­fat, high­carbohydrate foods. Ongoing studies are considering whether adequate sleep should be a standard part of weight loss programs.(10 Surprising Effects) A number of factors can lead to an increased risk of heart attacks, and sleep deprivation is one of them. During experimental sleep deprivation of healthy participants, increases in inflammation associated with the future development of cardiovascular disease occurred. (8 Effects of Sleep Deprivation)

Sleep is a very important part in health and human development.There are man negative things that can result from sleep deprivation. A lack of sleep can cause memory loss, underdeveloped brains, stress, depression and other serious health problems. everyone should try to get enough sleep at night to improve brain functions and reduce risks of getting other health risks.

Works Cited
"10 Surprising Effects of Lack of Sleep." WebMD. WebMD, 18 May 0000. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.
"8 Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Your Health | World of Psychology." Psych Central.com. N.p., n.d.
Web. 16 Oct. 2013.
"Teens and Sleep." Sleep for Teenagers. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

Cited: "10 Surprising Effects of Lack of Sleep." WebMD. WebMD, 18 May 0000. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. "8 Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Your Health | World of Psychology." Psych Central.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. "Teens and Sleep." Sleep for Teenagers. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.