Do you awaken most mornings exhausted, as if you ran a marathon in your dreams? But you still get behind the wheel of your car to commute to work, don’t you? Beware -- it is estimated that drowsy driving causes about 100,000 automobile accidents a year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, resulting in 71,000 injuries and 1,500 deaths. And if you experience a certain type of sleep disorder, your performance is on par with a drunk driver. You are 15 times more likely to have a motor vehicle accident than if you were driving refreshed.

Sleep Recommendations

The recommended hours of sleep for an adult is seven to nine hours a night, according to numerous sleep reports. But that doesn't take into account time spent awake during the night, and it doesn't specify how much time is ideally spent in each sleep cycle.

A better definition would include sleep quality and efficiency, instead of hours in bed, said Chris Berka, CEO and founder of Advanced Brain Monitoring lab. "A complete sleep cycle typically takes about 90 minutes, and the rule of thumb is that you need 4-5 full sleep cycles," said Berka. Full sleep cycles include all four stages of sleep; stage 1 is the bubble between wakefulness and sleep. Stage 2 restores alertness. Stage 3 and 4 are “slow-wave sleep.” This is when protein rebuilding, enzyme regeneration, healing and immune functions refresh themselves, and REM sleep occurs. Though REM sleep is not fully understood, it seems to impact emotions and memory.

Experts agree that chronic sleep deprivation affects your health, safety and performance. Sleep disorders affect nearly 70 million Americans with up to one-third of that number reporting symptoms of insomnia. But only about 10 percent of these sufferers have been diagnosed by their primary caregivers. Most sleep-related problems remain undiagnosed.

Everyone has problems falling asleep every once in a while. Temporary worries and other issues can have you up beyond your bedtime but as long as this doesn’t become a chronic condition, there isn’t much to worry about.


Signs of Sleep Deprivation

If you find yourself drowsy or sleepy during the day, you may not be getting the ideal sleep hours at night. This sleepiness may interfere with your daily life if you are exhausted. As noted earlier, this condition can cause accidents. As sleep is also crucial to thinking and learning, concentration, memory and problem solving may be impaired.

Mood disorders are also common with lack of sleep. Depression, anxiety, mental distress, and alcohol and drug use are common in folks who don’t sleep enough or have insomnia. An analysis of 19 published papers found that sleep deprivation had effects greater on mood and mental disorders than on cognitive or motor functions.

There is also an increase in obesity, which could lead to a risk of diabetes, snoring and sleep apnea. Other health symptoms of sleep deprivation are impaired glucose tolerance, cardiovascular disease and hypertension. And if you fall asleep at night within five minutes of your head hitting the pillow, that may be a sign that you are not getting enough sleep.

Causes of Sleep Loss

There are many causes of sleep deprivation, with four very common disorders. Insomnia is the inability to go to sleep or stay asleep throughout the night and strikes 30 to 50 percent of the general population at any one time. Ten percent suffer from long-term insomnia. The resulting daytime sleepiness may interfere with your daily work as you may have poor concentration and focusing skills. Insomnia also means falling asleep at inappropriate times such as in a history lecture class or a business meeting.

It is estimated that up to 45 percent of the population snores, and half of those cases are probably sleep apnea. Sleep apnea occurs when your airways temporarily close due to soft throat tissues collapsing in on themselves either because of the body’s position or for a physiological reason such as fatty tissues. The brain then wakes the body up to restart breathing. Chronic snoring increases the incidence of heart- and brain-related problems. About 20 million Americans suffer from some degree of apnea, and it is a primary risk for high blood pressure, faster heart rates and other markers of increased cardiovascular disease.


Restless leg syndrome is the uncomfortable sensation in legs with the urge to move them. This keeps sufferers awake because it is also accompanied by pins and needles sensations and muscle tics. Narcolepsy is another central nervous system disorder that results in excessive daytime sleepiness. There is loss of muscle tone, inability to move or speak, or distorted perceptions.

Other possible causes of sleep deprivation are medical problems such as heart disease, peptic ulcer disease, chronic pain, COPD, asthma, strokes, headache syndrome, neuromuscular diseases, anxiety, panic attacks, drug or alcohol use, and disruptions to the circadian cycle (the pattern of wakefulness and sleep).

Lifestyle and occupational causes also can contribute to lack of sleep. Longer work hours, and a greater number of shift workers amounting to 20 percent of the workforce leave some with a great sleep debt. Adults who leave for work between midnight and 5:30 a.m. jumped 24 percent over a 10-year period. Also, greater access to the Internet and television contributes to late-night hours.

So if you feel fatigued and tired when you get out of bed and find yourself drowsy and unable to concentrate at work, you may be the victim of sleep deprivation. If this condition is chronic, it is time to see your physician for an exam. Though it may not seem like a big deal to you, remember there are many physically and mentally adverse conditions associated with sleep deprivation, so this is nothing to ignore. Your health depends on a good night’s sleep.