Everyone knows what it feels like when you've had a (or a few) bad nights sleep – you can't focus, you feel out of sorts emotionally and possibly physically, and you may find yourself nodding off randomly throughout the day. Whilst this is normal occasionally, regularly missing out on the sleep you need can interfere with optimal brain function and overall good health. This is known as chronic sleep deprivation and is becoming more common, and more dangerous, in today's society.
What is chronic sleep deprivation?
Sleep deprivation becomes an issue when individuals regularly do not get the sleep they need and symptoms start to manifest. Chronic sleep deprivation can have significant consequences on general health and well-being as well as long term effects.
What causes sleep deprivation?
Sleep deprivation can occur due to your lifestyle (for example your working hours, family commitments, busy lifestyle or social life) or secondary to a primary sleep disorder that causes wakefulness (such as pain, insomnia, restless legs syndrome etc). Emotional stress or mental health issues such as anxiety can also cause sleep disruption.
How long can you go without sleep?
There are conflicting reports of what the current world record for intentionally going without sleep is, partially due to the fact that the Guinness World Records no longer maintain these records due to fears of adverse effects. The most scientifically documented record is held by Randy Gardner who managed to stay awake for 264.4 hours (11 days and 24 minutes). There have been multiple claims of people beating this record, including over 18 days without sleep, however none were as closely documented as Randy's record and thus may not be accurate.
What are the symptoms of sleep deprivation?
There are multiple signs of sleep deprivation to look out for, but generally they may include feeling tired, hungry, overly emotional (such as irritable, angry, sad, giddy), forgetfulness, inability to focus or concentrate and proneness to illness. You might also experience 'microsleeps' – where the brain forces itself into temporary periods of unconsciousness. Microsleeps are mainly inconvenient but can also be dangerous if it occurs whilst the individual is driving, an all too common occurrence.
More severe symptoms can occur following extreme sleep deprivation including confusion, paranoia, psychosis and hallucinations. The consequences of extreme sleep deprivation can be scary and quite disturbing, and as a result it has been used as a form of torture.
How could it affect me long term?
Prolonged sleep deprivation can contribute to many other conditions including obesity, diabetes, increased susceptibility to illness and reduced immunity, impaired memory, reduced cognitive performance and other neurological and behavioural changes.
Can sleep deprivation kill me?
Although sleep deprivation can be a contributing factor to the cause of death – for example due to falling asleep behind the wheel or leading to other health issues that may result in mortality – it is uncommon for sleep deprivation in itself to lead to death. There have been no documented cases of a healthy human dying purely from sleep deprivation, although it has been shown in occur in laboratory rats so it is deemed possible.
However, a very rare condition called fatal familial insomnia (FFI) can lead to total sleep deprivation and eventually death. An extremely rare genetic abnormality prevents the brain going past stage one of sleep, preventing the restorative processes of both the brain and body. This mutation can also occur spontaneously in patients, known as sporadic fatal insomnia (sFI). The average survival span for this disease is only 18 months from symptom onset, as the patient experiences worsening insomnia, paranoia, panic attacks, hallucinations, weight loss and dementia-like symptoms followed by death.
Treatment for sleep deprivation
Theoretically this is easy – get more sleep. However in practice this can be easier said than done. As well as increasing the amount of sleep, patients also need to maximise the quality of their sleep and ensure any other sleep disorders are treated. Although everyone is different, it is generally advised that adults should get between 7-8 hours of sleep a night.
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