Sleep Deprivation
Sleep disorders, a modern day illness causing abnormal or disarrayed sleep patterns, have become a norm in today’s fast paced competitive life. Increased work pressures due to working in night shifts and/or doing multiple shifts or jobs is one of main causes of sleep disorder. The current nuclear-family-society does not provide proper support system to counter these pressures. Resultantly we have sleep deprivation emerging as an epidemic! Lack of proper and comfortable sleep threatens physical, mental, emotional and social functioning of an individual. Let’s dig a little deeper into this infirmity.
Sleep Disorders -The Culprits
Main blame goes to modern lifestyles of the changed society with erratic work schedules, where an 8-hour-working-day is a passé and we have more to perform and less time for the performances. Unbalanced/ ill-timed eating habits, high caffeine/alcohol intake, untimely meals and medical conditions like arthritis, sleep apnea, diabetes, and heart disease may play havoc with our sleep patterns. Intensity of sleep disorders depend chiefly on age, gender, physical health and mental wellbeing of a person. Work stress, internet, TV, and other such distractions shift us to a 24×7 society where sleep is a luxury and not necessity.
Sleep Deprivation And Numbness
Most of the effects of sleep deprivation make brain inactive and slow to reaction thus causing physical symptoms similar to body numbness. Brain’s reduced response time causes periodic memory loss. This together with failure to think straight due to fatigue results in mental numbness. Thus, sleep deprived people have a lack of concentration and alertness. They feel sleepy during day or while driving and prone to more accidents as they have low reaction time. They also show irritable behavior due to both physical and mental disease and suffer from frequent depression bouts. Constant sleeplessness is bound to leave us mentally or physically numb.
Sleep Disorders – The Upshots
If you sleep on steering wheel or nap while at work, you need to watch out. As sleep disorders take a toll of energy, mood and efficiency, sleep deprived people tend to become physically unfit, mentally impaired, and more prone to accidents. Low energy levels make one lethargic and numb. Sleep deprived people occasionally suffer from bouts of breathlessness, chest aches, headaches and other respiratory ailments. The limbs remain restless during the day and frequent day time ‘sleep-attacks’ may occur. Thus a tired ‘numb-like’ feeling persists.
The Therapies To Control Sleep Disorders
It’s high time to take sleep deprivation seriously and control its devastating numbing outcomes. Some simple changes in our lifestyle can ensure us all the sleep we need. Balanced diet with less of saccharine foods alcohol/caffeine products; regular sleep schedule of going to sleep and getting up at almost the same time each day; avoiding computer/TV usage just before bedtime. Though over the counter and prescription medications may help in controlling sleep disorders, but they prove addictive, are expensive and have many side effects. On the other side, herbal sleep aids, having minimal side effects, relax body and promote a good night sleep, providing comfort to the underlying causes of insomnia. Let’s say goodbye to sleep disorders.
