Sleep deprivation is the condition of not having enough sleep; it can be either chronic or acute. A chronic sleep-restricted state can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness and weight loss or weight gain. It adversely affects the brain and cognitive function. Few studies have compared the effects of acute total sleep deprivation and chronic partial sleep restriction. Complete absence of sleep over long periods is impossible for humans to achieve (unless they suffer from fatal familial insomnia); brief microsleeps cannot be avoided. Long-term total sleep deprivation has caused death in lab animals.
Read more about Sleep Deprivation: Physiological Effects, Sleep Apnea, Mental Illness, School, Counteracting The Effects of Sleep Deprivation, Longest Period Without Sleep, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words sleep and/or deprivation:
“After I went to bed I had a curious fancy as to dreams. In sleep the doors of the mind are shut, and thoughts come jumping in at the windows. They tumble headlong, and therefore are so disorderly and strange. Sometimes they are stout and light on their feet, and then they are rational dreams.”
—James Boswell (1740–1795)
“All beauty, resonance, integrity,
Exist by deprivation or logic
Of strange position.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)