“There is only one thing people like that is good for them; a good night’s sleep”
- Edgar Watson Howe
Sleep deprivation is not like torture – it is a form of torture, a tactic favored by the KGB and the Japanese in PoW camps in World War Two. The British Army was also accused of using sleep deprivation to extract information from suspected IRA members in 1971.
“It is such a standard form of torture that basically everybody has used it at one time or another,” says Andrew Hogg, of the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture.
Going without sleep is intensely stressful, with unpredictable short and long-term effects. People lose the ability to act and think coherently.
Yet today more people say they’re sleeping less than six hours than did so in 1998, according to NSF. Sixteen percent of adults say they sleep less than six hours a night on weekdays, up from 12% seven years ago. Ten percent now report getting less than six hours on weekends compared with 8% in 1998.
“Sleep has such a total effect on people’s lives,” NSF Chief Executive Richard Gelula said. “You have the good sleepers who are happy and feeling comfortable, and the other half who are kind of dragged down.”
About half of adults are at risk for sleep disorders, he said. “It’s a very unmanaged issue in our society.”
People are waking up earlier and earlier, and it’s not just an elite group getting out on the road before or near dawn. These aren’t necessarily executive lifestyles people are living. It’s a whole variety of situations, from the middle class to single parents and people working multiple jobs who are really stretched to make ends meet.
But what happens when you fit loads into your life… except for sleep? What happens if you hardly get any? What’s the long-term damage?
1. Untamed heart.
Four hours’ sleep a night for a month decreases thyrotropin secretion (a hormone that regulates the thyroid gland) increasing levels of cortisol, which breaks down carbs, protein and fat to mobilise stored energy reserves. But it acts like a joyriding yob in the process, crashing into anything that gets in its way, causing stress, high blood pressure and heartache. Whack an ASBO on this troublemaker with a nap.
2. Bloody hell.
Too many “youthful” nights on the town can have you looking like a pensioner and your blood acting like one. It starts forgetting how to do the basics, like metabolising glucose, occasionally to the same level as people with type 2 diabetes. When it does remember, it dithers, taking up to 40% longer to complete a task like regulating blood sugar. Avoid caffeine after 4pm to ensure that your claret remains sweet and young, rather than turning sour and vinegary.
3. Heads, you lose.
Sleep is as vital to your brain as Viagra is to Hugh Hefner. Sleep regenerates the neurons (nerve cells) in the cerebral cortex (the “grey matter”), where you’ll find the temporal lobe that, unlike the useless lump under your ear, is responsible for processing language. This is why you turn into a monosyllabic caveman when sleep deprived. You also miss out on the new synaptic connections (nerve pathways) made while kipping; essential for creative thinking and originality, without which you become as dynamic as Vicky Pollard.
4. Less than handy.
In a study published in the British journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, researchers in Australia and New Zealand report that sleep deprivation can have some of the same hazardous effects as being drunk.
Getting less than 6 hours a night can affect coordination, reaction time and judgment, they said, posing “a very serious risk.”
So, in terms of coordination, skipping the snooze is like hitting the booze. Having less than six hours’ sleep on a single night impairs motor skills such as reaction times, not to mention reverse parking. Staying awake for 17-19 hours affects your behind-the-wheel skills more than having a blood alcohol level of 0.5% – the legal limit. Got loads on at work? Sort out a late-working rota with colleagues.
5. Fright eyes.
Baby’s wailing left you with panda eyes? That look is due to the changing water content in the skin around them, so the red blood cells beneath are more visible. It also makes them feel dry and itchy. Not getting 40 winks makes you look like you’ve gone four rounds with Lennox Lewis. Aid sleep with some white noise from a whirring household fan.
6. Growing pains.
Your toddler’s nocturnal needs can have major consequences on your leptin and grehlin levels, the hormones that encrypt eating information. While leptin – which regulates appetite and tells the brain how much body energy is available – goes AWOL, grehlin – responsible for hunger – speads its tubbyist propaganda. It’s not long before you gain weight. Time to take up kip fit.
Many people argue that they get by just fine on very little sleep. However, research shows that only a tiny fraction of people can truly function well on less than 7 hours sleep per night. Dinges estimates that, over the long haul, perhaps 1 person in a thousand can function effectively on six or fewer hours of sleep per night. Many people who operate on chronic sleep debts end up napping during the day or fighting through long periods of sleepiness in the afternoon.
Moreover, people who chronically fail to get enough sleep may actually be cutting their lives short. A lack of sleep taxes the immune system, and may even lead to disease and premature aging. To make all of this worse, most people who are sleep deprived do not even realize it. If you get sleepy during long meetings or long drives, chances are you are chronically sleep deprived.
So, stop the torture, and get some good sleep!
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Productivity Tip #04: Take A Break And Recharge - Practical advice on personal development, productivity and GTD
October 27, 2006
I agree – sleep deprivation is like sheer torture. I have always been one to toss and turn through the night until I found a miracle of a book by Dr. Michael Breus called Good Night – The Sleep Doctor’s 4-Week Program to Better Sleep and Better Health. This man is truly my hero. In following the 4-week plan I’ve actually learned how to be proactive about getting a good night’s sleep. I highly recommend this to anyone who suffers from lack of sleep.
October 27, 2006
[...] Read more about the unpleasant consequences… [...]
December 5, 2006
[...] Sometimes those mistakes are tragic. Government investigations of human error in the space shuttle Challenger explosion and Exxon Valdez oil spill cited sleep deprivation as a “direct cause” of those accidents. [...]
January 28, 2007
Unfortunately, I am currently stuck as a truck driver. Working 7 days a week, less than two full weekends off a month, on top of that, getting 4 hours or less sleep a night, or day (ever try to sleep during the day when everyone else is awake?), plus far too many times where I am pulling 14 to 18 to 20 hour days for 2, 3, 4 days at a time, not to mention having someone wake me up for stupid crap when I am trying to sleep, it is any wonder I haven’t died yet?
And I just described the times when I got some sleep. Imagine driving all night, getting 45 minutes of sleep for the day, then driving all night the next night? Or a total of less than 12 hours of sleep in five days?
The horror stories abound . . .
(Before you say this is why trucks are in so many accidents, 70% of all accidents involving trucks are caused by cars doing something stupid in front of trucks. We’re too tired to avoid the stupidity, and these things don’t stop on dimes at a moment’s notice.)
February 20, 2007
[...] Also, those suffering from sleep deprivation suffer from irritability and reduced concentration. So, remember that you are more likely to make mistakes and have a slower reaction time if you don’t get a good night sleep. [...]
May 16, 2007
let’s not forget that the united states also uses sleep deprivation as torture (or should i use the new word we use for it in the u.s. – coercive interrogation).
either way…nice read!
May 19, 2007
[...] Going without sleep is intensely stressful, with unpredictable short- and long-term effects. People lose the ability to act and thing coherently. –Ririan, Sleep Deprivation . . . A Standard Form of Torture, Ririan Project [...]
June 13, 2007
[...] 24. Catch some of those Zzzz’s. Sleep plays a critical role in your physiological function and is vital for your intellectual development. A sleepy person’s brain works harder – and accomplishes less. A study using real-time, state-of-the-art imaging shows that sleep deprivation has dramatic effects on the brain and how well it performs. Memory failure is also a common occurrence for many sleep-deprived individuals. Another study conducted at the University of Luebeck found that creativity and problem solving appear to be directly linked to adequate sleep. [...]
November 27, 2007
[...] 13. Get enough sleep. There’s nothing as stressful and potentially dangerous as working when you’re sleep-deprived. Not only is your productivity affected, but you can also make catastrophic mistakes. You may then have to work even more hours to make up for these mistakes. [...]
November 29, 2007
Quit your job, find a new one.
Do it now!
February 4, 2008
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February 26, 2008
Sleep Deprivation…”Standard form of Torture”
Good information for those who have actually been in situations where sleep means living or dying…we all need sleep, we all need the good side of it… it can ruin some of us and make us too comfortable in this free society. thanks for the good stuff, but ‘torture’ is a bit strong.
For ‘Ari’… life awaits you… kissing the enemy only encourages more of the same. Watch cartoons and leave the freedom business to the rest of us. Sweet dreams.
June 20, 2008
Liquid vicodin….
Vicodin. Vicodin detox. Vicodin detox vicodin. Buy vicodin online without. Buy vicodin….
November 13, 2008
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