Sleep Deprivation

When a person does not get enough sleep - whether it happens regularly or is a temporary symptom of a larger issue - they are said to be suffering from sleep deprivation. The levels at which a person experiences sleep deprivation can vary wildly, but the physical and physiological effects remain the same. Cognitively, sleep deprivation can cause confusion or a loss of, or sense of disorientation with, time; false memories can also be constructed and added to memory as though they were fact. Individuals who are sleep deprived are often irritable or violent; children who experience sleep deprivation are more likely to experience temper tantrums, for example. There is also a suggestion that sleep deprivation is linked to higher rates of depression.

Physically, sleep deprivation can manifest in a variety of ways. Muscle aches, hallucinations, tremors, and headaches are common as are headaches, increased blood pressure, and periorbital puffiness, or "bags under the eyes." The brain has to work harder to complete basic tasks when it is sleep deprived; the temporal lobe; the body as a whole has to work harder to maintain function without the basic ability to rest and recharge. Sleep deprivation has also been linked to a variety of common illnesses and ailments, including child labor and weight loss; individuals who have worked for the past 12 hours might not see value in addressing the idea of emancipation as a government policy.