Ryan Buckley Essays - Neuroscience, Sleep, Biology, Insomnia

Ryan Buckley Essays - Neuroscience, Sleep, Biology, Insomnia Ryan Buckley Eng. 105 9:40-11:10 11/28/17 Sleep Deprivation of the 21 st Century In a rapidly evolving American society, people are sleeping less and less. Yet, due in part to the economic strength of the pharmaceutical industry, they are often not receiving proper treatment. And the larger cultural forces at work, crucial for understanding 21st century sleep, are rarely considered to be a causal factor. Sleep is very complex. In fact, scientist do not even understand why our bodies really need sleep. What is known is that there are many different individual and social factors that are related to the amount people sleep, including age, homeostatic traits, anxiety and depression, medical conditions, alcohol and drugs, and . While sleep deprivation and insomnia are both related to insufficient sleep, they are two qu ite different things. Increased sleep deprivation, or sleep deficit, has sometimes been described as a symptom of the recent decrease in leisure time in American society. Working hours have increased during the second-half of the 20th century, along with sharp growth in American productivity and growth. A doubling of productivity could have translated into both higher incomes and decreased working hours, yet today employees rarely have a choice between getting paid in time or money. Instead, Americans, rel ative to the past, work more, earn more, and spend more. This focus on work and consumption over leisure time has brought an increased "time squeeze." While this is especially true for the average American woman, the time squeeze cuts across gender , social class, and marital status. Moreover, the recent growth of digital media and smartphones has dramatically raised productivity expectations and blurred the line between work and personal lif e. This decrease in free time and increased pace of life and stress has brought with it reduced sleep, with real consequences for physical and mental health, performance at work, and quality of life. For example, in the 1960s, the average amount of time A mericans spent sleeping was between 7 and 8.5 hours a night, while today 50% of the population averages under 7 hours, and, according to a 2008 survey, 1 out of 3 Americans say they get a good night's sleep only a few nights a month or less. Research sho ws that negative consequences of sleep deprivation include increased risk of physical problems such as diabetes, infection, and cardiovascular disease; excessive daytime sleepiness; microsleep episodes during waking hours; lapses in concentration, attentio n, memory, and judgment; reduced creativity and mental flexibility; increased irritability; and decreased motivation, interest, and initiative. Additionally, automobile driving skills suffer and several major accidents have been linked to sleep deprivation , underlining the seriousness of the issue as a public safety hazard. Insomnia, as opposed to sleep deprivation, is defined by the World Health Organization as a problem in falling and/or maintaining sleep. Severity is usually determined by the amount of time it takes to fall asleep and the duration of awakenings, as well as frequency and duration of sleep difficulties. Most people, at some point or another, experience acute insomnia in life; this is normal and must be distinguished from persistent insomn ia that lasts more than a month. Hyperarousal and hypervigilance around sleep are key factors in persistent insomnia. Several psychological and quality of life symptoms appear to be caused by insomnia. These include daytime fatigue and emotional dis turbances such as irritability, anxiety, depressed mood, and helplessness. Longitudinal studies suggest that persistent insomnia may be a risk factor for developing clinical depression. Somatic complaints such as gastrointestinal and respiratory problems, headaches, and non-specific aches and pains are also linked with insomnia. Interestingly, cognitive impairments resulting from insomnia, such as those in attention, concentration, and memory, appear to be more limited than those resulting from sleep depri vation.