It is not only the sleep deprivation effects that we observe, but also those that lay beneath the surface, that are detrimental to the physical health of a human being. Some effects that immediately result from a lack of sleep include:
Hallucinations People who hallucinate are completing tasks while lacking sleep, and are likely to “see something flicker in their peripheral vision, or they may think they see blinking lights, but not be sure,” thus indicating that “the brain isn’t interpreting information clearly” (Miller).
Delirium Delirium is evident in various cases of sleep deprivation when the person becomes disoriented (Miller). For instance, the “sleepy ha-ha’s” may be an indication of delirium in someone who is sleep-deprived because they feel very loopy.
Microsleeps Microsleeps is a bizarre phenomenon that occurs when someone is sleep-deprived and “falls into mini-snooze sessions” for less than a minute, in which they cannot process any information even if their eyes are open (Miller). It is a dangerous side effect of sleep deprivation, especially when behind the wheel, because one is unaware that he/she is actually asleep (Pietrangelo).
Overall, these short-term effects of sleep deprivation can be harmful to a student’s academic performance because he/she would be more likely to process information incorrectly, or not even process the information at all, which could result in a lack of knowledge when being tested on the material. Additionally, if a student is working on a paper or a project late at night and experiences hallucinations, delirium, or microsleeps, the quality of his/her work is likely to be poor and inaccurate, which could certainly yield a bad grade.
Some long-term or chronic health effects brought upon by sleep deprivation include:
Weaker immune system Having a sufficient amount of sleep is a key factor to a healthy immune system. Unfortunately, when the body lacks sleep, the immune system weakens, which makes one more prone to illness.
Weight gain Weight gain can be a result of increase in caloric intake due to an increased appetite late at night. This increased appetite may be triggered by fluctuations in “levels of the appetite hormones ghrelin and leptin,” which causes many people to eat late at night (Schocker).
Increased risk of obesity and diabetes When someone gets less than 6 hours of sleep a night, he/she is more prone to illnesses including arthritis, diabetes, and obesity. Primarily, research shows that this insufficient amount of sleep results in having “higher blood levels of inflammatory proteins” (Williams). In other words, sleep deprivation can lead to chronic inflammation, which can be a leading cause of arthritis and diabetes (Williams).
Increased risk of heart disease Researchers detected that after only a week of insufficient amount of sleep, “700 genetics changes could play a role in consequences including heart problems and obesity” (Klein).