Sleep Awareness Essay

Sleep is an important factor of health. It is recommended to get eight hours of sleep a night (“sleep awareness”). Sleeping less than seven hours can increase the risk for diseases like obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and depression (“sleep awareness”). Some of the consequences of not getting the appropriate amount of sleep are impaired memory, depression, decreased immune response, fatigue and increased pain (“stages of sleep”).

There are four stages of sleep plus REM sleep. Stages one through four are non-REM sleep and last from five to fifteen minutes (Figure 1) (“stages of sleep”). During REM sleep muscle tone is lost and rapid eye movement occurs (“stages of sleep”). Anywhere from four to six sleep cycles are gone through during a night of sleep (“sleep awareness”).

Not only is sleep important for health but it is also important for safety. Serious car crashes are 20 percent related to drowsy driving (“sleep awareness”). A blood alcohol level of 0.10 beyond the legal limit is the same as not sleeping for 24 hours (“sleep awareness”). Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder and affects about 30 percent of adults (“sleep awareness”). Being sleep deprived causes alcohol to effect the body more potently.

There are many aspects of life that can affect sleep. The SCN is the primary circadian pacemaker that coordinates metabolic and physiological rhythms in the body (Maywood, 2014). Caffeine acts by blocking adenosine and keeping a person awake (Andrew, 2014). Caffeine also acts on the skin, and causes changes in body temperature and alertness (Andrew, 2014). Human behavior is affected by sleep deprivation from a functional ADA polymorphism (Carolin, 2014). Sleep duration, quality of sleep and jet la...

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... phase disorder (DSPD) were treated with bright light and melatonin to positively affect the patients sleep patterns (Ane, 2013). Circadian rhythms have also found to be disrupted in patients with bipolar disorder (Geoffroy, 2014).

Sleep is extremely important for your health. Not getting adequate sleep every night can increase the risk of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and depression. Diseases also have an affect on sleep and can cause delayed sleep, advanced sleep or irregular sleep-wake cycles which can affect daily life. Waking earlier means you are tired earlier and waking later could mean you are tired for work in the morning. In conclusion, many things can alter the biological clock and by using melatonin and light treatments, it could solve some sleep disorders and help regulate sleep-wake cycles in those with other types of diseases.