Sleep deprivation

Sleep deprivation, also known as sleep insufficiency or sleepliness, is the condition of not having adequate duration and/or quality of sleep to support decent alertness, performance, and health. It can be either chronic or acute and may vary widely in severity.

Acute sleep deprivation is when an individual sleeps less than usual or does not sleep at all for a short period of time – usually lasting one to two days. Chronic sleep deprivation means when an individual routinely sleeps less than an optimal amount for ideal functioning. Chronic sleep deficiency is often confused with the term insomnia. Although both chronic sleep deficiency and insomnia share decreased quantity and/or quality of sleep as well as impaired function, their difference lies on the ability to fall asleep. Sleep deprived individuals are able to fall asleep rapidly when allowed but those suffering from insomnia have difficulty falling asleep.

The dangers of sleep deprivation are apparent on the road; the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) reports that one in every five serious motor vehicle injuries is related to driver fatigue, with 80,000 drivers falling asleep behind the wheel every day and 250,000 accidents every year related to sleep, though the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration suggests the figure for traffic accidents may be closer to 100,000. The AASM recommends pulling off the road and taking a 15- or 20-minute nap to alleviate drowsiness.

According to a 2000 study published in the british medical journal, researchers in Australia and New Zealand reported that sleep deprivation can have some of the same hazardous effects as being drunk.People who drove after being awake for 17–19 hours performed worse than those with a blood alcohol level of 0.05 percent, which is the legal limit for drunk driving in most western European countries and Australia. Another study suggested that performance begins to degrade after 16 hours awake, and 21 hours awake was equivalent to a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent, which is the blood alcohol limit for drunk driving in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K.

Fatigue of drivers of goods trucks and passenger vehicles have come to the attention of authorities in many countries, where specific laws have been introduced with the aim of reducing the risk of traffic accidents due to driver fatigue. Rules concerning minimum break lengths, maximum shift lengths and minimum time between shifts are common in the driving regulations used in different countries and regions, such as the drivers' working hours regulations in the European Union and hours of service regulations in the United States.

The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill was the second largest oil spill in the United States. This accident occurred when an Exxon oil tanker struck a reef at the Prince William Sound in Alaska. Approximately 10.8 million gallons of oil spilled into the sea. The accident caused great environmental damage including the death of hundreds of thousands of birds and sea creatures. Fatigue and sleep deprivation were the major contributors to the accident. The captain of the ship was asleep after a night of heavy drinking; he was severely fatigued and had been awake for 18 hours. The entire crew was suffering from fatigue and inadequate sleep.

The National Sleep Foundation identifies several warning signs that a driver is dangerously fatigued. These include rolling down the window, turning up the radio, trouble keeping eyes open, head-nodding, drifting out of their lane, and daydreaming. At particular risk are lone drivers between midnight and 6:00am.

Sleep deprivation can negatively impact overall performance, and has led to major fatal accidents. Due largely to the February 2009 crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407, which killed 50 people and was partially attributed to pilot fatigue, the FAA reviewed its procedures to ensure that pilots are sufficiently rested. Air traffic controllers were under scrutiny when in 2010 there were 10 incidents of controllers falling asleep while on shift. The common practice of turn-around shifts caused sleep deprivation and was a contributing factor to all air traffic control incidents. The FAA reviewed its practices of shift changes and the findings saw that controllers were not well rested. A 2004 study also found medical residents with less than four hours of sleep a night made more than twice as many errors as the 11% of surveyed residents who slept for more than seven hours a night.

Twenty-four hours of continuous sleep deprivation results in the choice of less difficult math tasks without decreases in subjective reports of effort applied to the task. Naturally caused sleep loss affects the choice of everyday tasks such that low effort tasks are mostly commonly selected. Adolescents who experience less sleep show a decreased willingness to engage in sports activities that require effort through fine motor coordination and attention to detail.

Great sleep deprivation mimics psychosis: distorted perceptions can lead to inappropriate emotional and behavioral responses.

Astronauts have reported performance errors and decreased cognitive ability during periods of extended working hours and wakefulness as well as due to sleep loss caused by circadian rhythm disruption and environmental factors.

One study has found that a single night of sleep deprivation may cause tachycardia (in the following day).

Generally, sleep deprivation may facilitate or intensify:

• aching muscles
• confusion, memory lapses or loss
• depression
• development of false memory
• hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations during falling asleep and waking, which are entirely normal
• periorbital puffiness, commonly known as "bags under eyes" or eye bags
• increased blood pressure
• increased stress hormone levels^[
• lowering of immunity, increased susceptibility to illness

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, healthy adults should get a minimum of seven hours of sleep each night, with a recommended range of between seven to eight hours. However, Hult’s research revealed that the professionals surveyed averaged only six hours and 28 minutes.

While an extra 30 minutes of shut-eye might not seem like much, the effects of this sleep deficit were notable. Many survey respondents reported poorer workplace performance due to tiredness, with over half admitting to struggling to stay focused in meetings, taking longer to complete tasks, and finding it challenging to generate new ideas. Along with a lack of focus and diminished creative capacities, participants also indicated a reduced motivation to learn and be less able to manage competing demands.

“It is common for managers and colleagues to look at a lack of focus or motivation, irritability, and bad decision making as being caused by poor training, organizational politics or the work environment. The answer could be much simpler – a lack of sleep.”