Sleep Deprivation

Sleep deprivation is a huge problem amongst hundreds of thousands of teenagers across the country. The thousands of teenagers that roll out of bed around 6:30 in the morning, after a night filled with extra-curriculars, homework, and a huge amount of procrastination, that usually results in most teens going to bed past midnight. To myself, and my peers, sleep deprivation has been a major problem, and I have failed to perform to my highest abilities due to lack of sleep in the past. Like many other issues, sleep deprivation has a heavy impact on four aspects of the wellness wheel. First off, Sleep Deprivation can cause one to feel physically exhausted, and can also cause soreness in the bones, muscles, and joints. Many athletes feel a decrease in physical performance if they are not properly rested, and feel deprived of sleep. Some physical symptoms of sleep deprivation are: Baggy eyes, decreased vision, decreased eye hand coordination, and muscle soreness. Intellectually, sleep deprivation has been linked to a diminished level of critical thinking, observance, and creativity. Many sleep deprived people fail to perform in intellectual landscapes, such as the workplace, or the classroom, where lower test scores are seen in those who have trouble sleeping. The emotional aspect of the wellness wheel is probably the most heavily affected out of all four. People are who are exhausted from sleep deprivation, are generally too tired to feel extremes of any emotion, and are doomed for a depressed, altered, and ultimately Xanax like state of being. The sleep-deprived person basically has a highly limited emotional realm. Lastly, the social aspect of the wellness wheel is affected by sleep deprivation. One who is sleep deprived, will be so tired that he or she will not have the drive to be socially active, and as a result the exhausted person will come victim to lifestyle changes, and ultimately miss out on many social experiences.