Critically discuss the effects of sleep

deprivation
Sleep can generally be defined as a naturally recurring state characterized by
reduced levels of consciousness and awareness, reduced interaction with the environment,
and relatively inhibited sensory activity and voluntary muscle movements; it is believed to be
instinctual (in fact, it has been argued that sleep is the only true instinct). On average, adults
need 7 to 9 hours of sleep. Sleep deprivation is the condition of not having enough sleep;
even if some people can get used to a sleep-deprived schedule, their functions (reaction
time, memory, judgement etc.) will still be impaired. Research done on this subject in the
last decades had a lot of common results concerning the effects of sleep deprivation, and
the purpose of this essay is to critically discuss them.

Loss of sleep may lead to inaccurate image formation on the retina, which can cause
dim vision, double vision, or even the disruption of visual perception; moreover, extremely
long periods of wakefulness can increase the number of visual errors, as well as
hallucinations. Other effects of sleep loss include drowsiness, headaches, tremor,
disturbances in postural control, and increased sensitivity to pain, along with limb
numbness. A recent study found that sleep deprivation affects even sleep perception (how
much one slept during the night): sleep deprived patients exhibited a decreased perception
of total sleep time during the sleep deprivation period, but showed no change in sleep
perception during the recovery nights; even if there were a couple of studies that argued
that an individual’s time estimation ability could explain this, their results showed no
difference in estimating time ability between sleep-deprived and non-sleep-deprived
participants.

On a cognitive level, most studies reached the conclusion that prolonged

wakefulness is known to decrease attention and working memory, and this may result in
reduced accuracy and effectiveness of work performance: studies found that sleep loss
caused a 20-30% increase in the number of errors. In most studies, sleep deprivation has
also been found to impair problem solving, flexible thinking, innovation, task acquisition,
memory and decision making. Some researchers suggested that boredom or lack of
motivation could explain a decrease in performance, and a study found evidence that
performance is deteriorated only in long tasks. However, in some cases, patients with
brainstem injuries that resulted in the permanent suppression of rapid-eye movement (REM)
sleep showed no disruption in their general functioning or memory disturbances.

With regards to emotions, the data suggests that emotional processes are sensitive
to sleep loss. Negative mood states (negative thinking, confusion etc.) have been shown to
be a consequence of sleep loss, even though research does not make it clear how specific
events influence mood in sleepy vs rested subjects. Moreover, some studies showed that

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sleep loss may have a detrimental effect on the ability to assess emotional information, as
well as emotional empathy (the ability to share other’s emotions).

Nonetheless, sleep deprivation has been used for therapeutic purposes. Patients that
were kept awake during the night (by performing organized activities) showed mood
improvement during the next day. The antidepressant effect of sleep deprivation could be
explained by the increase in dopamine activity (neurotransmitter regulating the mood and
pleasure centres of the brain). Even though this therapy has relatively small side effects
(drowsiness or hypomania), it could be argued that patients’ mood might have been
improved by the participation in organized activities itself.

Researching sleep deprivation can be difficult for a number of reasons: different

durations of sleep between animals and humans makes it difficult to compare sets of data;
participating in a sleep study can cause stress in both humans and animals. While sleeping at
home does not really allow precise control of sleeping conditions, sleeping in an unfamiliar
environment (sleep lab) may impair sleep quality, and there are several studies that
neglected this “first night” effect; only a few studies used data from the 3 rd night as a
baseline, which is believed to be more accurate (as the sleep in the 2nd night could be better
due to rebound from the 1st night). Some researchers argue that inconclusive or neutral
results could be the consequence of methodological shortcomings (insensitive
measurements, failure to control practice effect and confounding factors etc.). Also, some
literature reported a lack of coherence in the information obtained from subjective (self-
report) and objective measurements (measured hours of sleep, heart rate etc.), leading to
valuing one measure over another, or trying to reconcile the discrepancy.

In conclusion, literature generally agreed on three consistent negative effects of

sleep deprivation (drowsiness, negative affect, poor performance on vigilance tasks), but
there are still some questions on whether or not sleep deprivation also affects cognitive
functioning (logic and critical thinking), and executive functioning (innovative and insightful
thinking). Overall, the study of sleep is an evolving science, as its mechanisms and even its
purpose are the subject of ongoing research.