English Literature

A person requires enough sleep in order to function effectively. Inadequate sleep or interruption of the sleep circle either due to traveling or working shifts leads to a psychological state referred to as fatigue. Sleeping disorders is a problem that affects many people and can persist for a long period of time without being diagnosed. Some people experience mild sleeping disorders like sporadic nightmares while others suffer from severe disorders, which if untreated, can lead to serious health complications and certain death. Symptoms of sleep deprivation include constant yawning, grogginess, hallucinations, sleep inertia, poor concentration, mood swings and tendency to doze while inactive (Patrick, 14).
           
Neurotransmitters produce neurons that control sleep and ensure that the brain remains active when a person is awake. Research has shown that adenosine multiplies in the blood when a person as awake, and breaks down gradually leading to drowsiness and sleep. Sleep occurs in five stages where in the first four stages, the brain waves slow down gradually until it switches off to sleep in the final stage. The rate of breathing becomes high and irregular while the eyes tend to move rapidly beneath the eyelids (Kushinda, 37). One of the major causes of sleep deprivation is stress. Insomnia and fatigue occur when a person is unable to sleep and it takes place in three phases.
             
The first phase includes the inability of a person to fall asleep. The second phase occurs when a person is unable to sleep continuously and keeps waking up after a short period of time. The final phase is concern with loss of sleep during the night or early hours of the morning. Insomnia can result from stress, somatic diseases, chronic emotional conflict, and psychostimulants. Causes of sleep deprivation can be classified into four major categories lifestyle, medical side effects, health complications and clinical disorders.
                 
Lifestyle choices that lead to sleep deprivation include smoking, taking alcohol or caffeine, substance abuse, and chewing stimulants like miraa. Moreover, jobs that require a person to work in shifts usually distort the sleeping pattern. Medication disturbs the normal body rhythms leading to restlessness, fatigue and insomnia. People who depend on sleeping pills may get complications since when used for long periods, the pills loose their effectiveness. Medical conditions that cause sleep deprivation can be physical or mental in nature. Diabetes, asthma, depression and post traumatic stress can result to sleeping disorders. Antidepressants like Prozac which are meant to enhance sleep have been associated with sleeping disorders. Studies have shown that certain antidepressants can make people to act physically while dreaming (Roger, 135).  Mental disorders associated with mania or hypomania result from chemical imbalance which makes the brain to remain inactive hence a person can remain awake for many hours.
                 
Sleep deprivation has an adverse effect on the brain and the behaviors of a person. A long period without sleep makes the temporal lobe, which is a part of the brain to stop functioning, leading to slurred speech. Sleep is essential for the regeneration of neurons which are used in forming new memories and developing synaptic connections. A possible side effect of extended periods without sleep is death since a persons immune system is highly compromised. The amount of the white blood cells decreases considerably and also the ability of red blood cell to function effectively diminishes. Sugar metabolism in the body decreases and its mostly converted into fats. Research has shown that people who spend four or less hours of sleep are three time more likely to die prematurely.
               
Sleep deprivation leads to the decline in basic body temperature, reduced production of growth hormones, and the fluctuation of the heart rate variability. Sleep is also essential in facilitating the nervous system to function properly. Drowsiness is usually caused by lack of enough sleep and it can lead to hallucination and changes in moods. Tasks that require careful concentration becomes difficult to do and functions that demand high level accuracy and speed cannot be completed by a person with sleep deprivation (Kushinda, 21). A persons judgment and concentration is also impaired and someone is more likely to engage in riskier activities. This is a major cause of road accidents since a person can hardly focus when he is sleep deprived.
             
Since concentration and accuracy is impaired with sleep deprivation, the most affected people are students. Verbal learning is seriously affected while the ability to remember becomes a difficult task. Studies have also shown that thinking and speech are also compromised when a person is sleep deprived. In conclusion, sleep deprivation affects a persons memory, judgment, and the ability to learn, all of which are important in our daily lives.