Sleep Deprivation Essay

2672 Words11 Pages
INTRODUCTION

Sleep is one of the most crucial functions of the human body. While a person’s body sleeps, many essential processes are completed, such as the rest for one’s body, the drainage of excess fluid and growth, amongst others. Regardless of the fact that sleep is such an essential process for the body, it is commonly disregarded by teenagers and young adults, who ironically need sleep more than adults do because they are in a stage of rapid growth and development (Pietrangelo, 2014). Unknowingly many people create habits by repeatedly staying awake, whether it is for work or social reasons. Research has shown that lack of sleep negatively affects one emotionally, physically and academically (Peri, 2014). One’s academic performance at school and physical performance on the sports field can be severely compromised by lack of sleep. Severe sleep problems can also be linked with some mental disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar and depression [REFERENCE]. Depression in teenagers is becoming more prevalent, and scientists are starting to believe that this is linked to sleeping disorders.

I have suffered severely from involuntary lack of sleep for many years. This topic therefore is personally relevant, and will hopefully enlighten me on some of the issues related to sleep deprivation that I may have overlooked previously. There are many subtle symptoms – such as memory loss, a lower immune system and weight gain - that can show the early stages of sleep