Sleep Deprivation Isn’t All That Bad!
call HART crazy … but
uuhhhm … Okay you CAN call HART crazy on this one. “Don’t Try This At Home” (Disclaimer)
I often do ‘all-niters’ to meet deadlines and obligations. That’s the privilege of being self-employed and responsible for your own business activities .. it’s up to you to get it done. My body, in general, has stopped agreeing with me when I do all-niters … I am not a university student anymore, and in my youthful 20’s. Let’s face it .. my body just isn’t made out to party all night (or work all night) anymore! I know that! So, what usually happens is that I would work all night, it’s not that I really stay up for two days or anything like that ~~ … when my wife wakes up at 5:30am or so, I would jump into bed and sleep until about 10:00am-11:00am and give me a good rest for the rest of the day.
Today I didn’t do that. I had errands to run, additional deadlines to meet and phone calls. Plus, it’s a long weekend here, Canadian Thanksgiving Day on Monday. So, instead of getting some sleep - I went right back to work after a good hearty breakfast and an orange and coffee.
Sure, I was tired around 8:30am and my eyelids began to get heavy - but, then there is always one client that calls me ‘Off-Hours’ and when the phone rang at 8:42am today .. I snapped out of it.
I’ve been on the go all day today and never felt tired at all.
Right now, it’s 3:15 am as I’m typing this blog entry … why? Because — I’m still awake and working! hehe .. well, still awake and blogging that is surfing the internet.
I’m just not tired or sleepy. But, I should head off to sleep soon - I have a Weight Watchers weigh in at 10:00am tomorrow morning (Saturday) ..
I feel that I can stay up all night and work or play .. and won’t be tired .. I might even be productive tomorrow. But - what will happen when I finally fall asleep? Will I wake up? I dreadfully need a good night’s sleep … Maybe I’ll take a sleeping pill ..
… no, not to help me sleep … I might take a sleeping pill to help me NOT to wake up (just in case) when my wife hears me snoring so loud from lack of sleep!
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According to the above linked website:
Sleep deprivation is a common condition that afflicts 47 million American adults, or almost a quarter of the adult population. Symptoms can interfere with memory, energy levels, mental abilities, and emotional mood. A study conducted by the University of Chicago Medical Center in 1999 indicates that the condition drastically affects the body’s ability to metabolize glucose, leading to symptoms that mimic early-stage diabetes.
Symptoms
Exhaustion, fatigue and lack of physical energy are common sleep deprivation symptoms. Exhaustion and fatigue affect our emotional moods, causing pessimism, sadness, stress and anger. The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) has suggested that social problems such as road rage may be caused, in part, by a national epidemic of sleepiness.
The brain’s frontal cortex relies on sleep to function effectively. Insufficient rest adversely affects the frontal cortex’s ability to control speech, access memory, and solve problems. The effect on physical energy is also startling: otherwise healthy people quickly show symptoms of age and early diabetes as glucose metabolism falls by up to forty percent. These physical reactions disappear when the test subject is allowed to rest properly. Driving and other activities can become dangerous without sufficient rest.
Causes
Emotional stress or excitement can interfere with sleeping patterns, as can some medical conditions and medication. Food additives and caffeine can also make falling asleep difficult.
Over seventy identified sleeping disorders can disrupt normal nighttime patterns, and more disorders may yet be discovered.
That’s sick. I can’t make an all nighter - I tried once and fell asleep at six AM. We ran out of things to do.
And are you sure you’re awake?
(I’m in a preachy mood; can you tell?)
Comment by Bailey on October 14, 2005 2:22 pm