Psycological study of sleep depravation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Psycological study of sleep depravation - Essay Example These include restoration of physiological function, energy conservation and facilitation of the healing process (Dotto, 1996). Adequate sleep is thus required for all these purposes. Moreover, studies have elucidated that in addition to adequacy of sleep, the quality of sleep acquired also has major bearing on one's functioning. This fact is emphasized by Dr. Carlyle Smith, professor of psychology at Trent University in the following words: "Whether you're studying for university exams, memorizing the script of a play, learning to drive a car or training intensively for an athletic competition, your performance can be affected not only by how much sleep you have had, but also by what type of sleep you got and when you got it (Dotto, 1996)." Sleep disturbances are fairly common in today's society and with the pressing demands of work, education, etc and the ever-increasing time constraints, sleep deprivation is inevitable and studies have shown a 20% sleep reduction amongst Americans over the past century (Colten & Altevogt, 2006). Sleep deprivation and sleep related problems have been found in an alarmingly high number of people and some studies suggest figures as high as 50 to 70 million amongst Americans (Colten & Altevogt, 2006). ... The degree of sleep deprivation has been shown to vary according to different factors such as one's age, occupation, lifestyle, etc. Sleep related issues are most common amongst teenagers, women and adults who are aged greater than fifty years (Virginia Mason Medical Center, 2009). Almost one third of the young adults have been found to be insomniac (Bonnet & Arand, 1995) and almost 58million Americans have been shown to suffer from symptoms of excessive sleepiness throughout the day which impairs their social and functional capacities (Virginia Mason Medical Center, 2009). These figures reflect the gravity of the situation from a public health perspective. The magnitude of the burden of this disorder can also be judged from the exorbitant medical costs, both direct and indirect, which can be attributed to this disorder. Some studies report the costs associated with sleep deprivation and its hazardous consequences to be as high as 56 billion dollars per year (Bonnet & Arand, 1995). The duration of sleep varies within and amongst populations and hence it is difficult to determine the level of sleep which can be defined as adequate. Various studies have concluded that individuals require a minimum of eight hours of sleep per day (Bonnet & Arand, 1995) and recent estimates show that amongst adults, the average number of hours spent sleeping is six hours and 57 minutes which considerably less than that termed as adequate (Virginia Mason Medical Center, 2009). However, these values vary from individual to individual. Thus it becomes relevant to assess the sleep need on an individual basis. This is achieved by letting the individual go to bed in