The Cognitive Impairment and Physiological Illnesses

Sleep is one of the body's mysterious functions that is required by all human beings. The function of sleep is still not fully understood, although a battery of experiments and a multitude of theories attempt to explain it. One of categories that falls under the study of sleep is sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation is an important study since it affects individuals, groups, and the environment. Unfortunately, sleep deprivation affects a large amount of the human population, afflicting millions in America alone. Studies has shown that the loss of sleep time correlates to lowered cognitive performance and impaired mental activity, coupled with physical problems that turn into problematic medical illnesses. People of all ages, occupations, and races have experienced times where they are at a loss of sleep. Sometimes, those people are able to recover lost sleep by sleeping more on other days, typically weekends or days without work. However, there are others who have a chronic problem with sleeping which leads to problems with their health, work, and mental abilities. The first visually noticeable things about a sleep-deprived people is their mental performance and ability to stay alert. Lowered performance in this area is a cause for alarm in certain occupations that involves the safety, health, and even the very lives of other people. Long-term sleep problems eventually affects the physical health of a person. Sleep deprivation has been associated with high blood pressure, obesity, stroke, heart disease, and diabetes. Since sleep deprivation is a widespread condition, studies are done to gain a better understanding about sleep and the effects of limiting the amount we get. This could ultimately lead to better treatments to help the millions around the world. It could also produce more information about sleep in general and its function to the brain and the body. Experiments have shown that cognitive degradation occurs with sleep deprivation, although the reason why it occurs received mixed results. One study suggests that there is an inability to focus on a task and have the energy to complete it, while another study theorizes that a person is slowed in performance since lapses of inattention occur through a period of time. One study concluded that there is a lessened response to external stimuli. People's motivation and mood are some variables that have been included in the study of sleep deprivation. Some researchers found that subjects' motivation to complete a task is affected, while other "participants may recognize their decreased performance levels following sleep deprivation and attempt to overcome this decrease by increasing their effort."(Pilcher). However, there are many more variables that are unaddressed before a solid conclusion that can be reached. One of many examples who experienced sleep deprivation is secondary and college students. Students studying late at night to accommodate their academic workload or to prepare for exams only to be awakened early in the morning to start the next school day can accumulate a sleep debt. Sleep debt is the accumulation of sleep loss that occurs over a period of time. Studies have shown that students who deprive themselves of much needed sleep "are not only increasing their feelings of sleepiness during the day, thus decreasing their ability to pay attention in class, but are also negatively affecting their ability to perform on exams."(Pilcher). The loss of being able to focus is a prominent characteristic of those who did not sleep enough. While cognitive impairments have been widely documented, the "relationships between sleep deprivation and psychological variables associated with performance are not clearly understood."(Pilcher). In more serious cases of sleep deprivation, the health and safety of others may be affected to those who work in certain occupations. The Exxon oil spill, which received widespread media coverage, was blamed on a sleep-deprived worker. Medical residents in hospital are notorious for their 100-hour work schedule that allows very little sleep. In a setting where life-or-death decisions are made, physicians who are cognitively impaired can seriously injure or cause death to a patient. Recently, the work hours have been regulated in some states to reduce patient risk and resident fatigue resulting from sleep deprivation. Statistics show that "reducing your nighttime sleep by as little as one and a half hours for just one night could result in a reduction of daytime alertness by as much as 32%."(Breus). In the medical industry, that 32% could spell disaster for a patient's health and life. Recent studies have also shown that there is similar cognitive impairment to a sleep-deprived person and a person who is impaired by alcohol. With a blood alcohol level of 0.10 as a guide for impaired driving, the results show "that after 17 to 19 hours of wakefulness, subjects' performance on many tests had dropped to that found at the legal limits for safe driving."(Williamson). Major industries are taking note of the sleep deprivation studies and have taken the initiative to ensure their workers are well rested. Sleep deprivation is an important issue that needs to have further research, as well as research into sleep itself. Despite major advances in science and medicine, there is still a lot of undiscovered territory in the field of sleep research. There are many people who are unaware that they are depriving themselves of sleep and go undiagnosed with a sleeping disorder. In most cases, they consider their sleep-deprived state as normal. When Dr. Mark Mahowald is asked the number of people deprived of sleep in the US, he answers "Just about everybody. Anyone who uses an alarm clock to wake up is sleep-deprived by definition. Their brains would have awakened spontaneously if they have accumulated the amount of sleep they need."(Kircheimer). In a sleep-deprived state, our brain does not perform well and it affects the entire body in the process. Although the exact cognitive processes are unknown in sleep deprivation, sleep remains to be a mysterious and necessary part of our lives.

References
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<http://my.webmd.com/content/article/64/72426.htm?lastselectedguid={5FE84E90-BC77-4056-A91C-9531713CA348}>