Sleep Deprivation

Sleep Deprivation

Sleep Deprivation, Disorders, and Drugs

John Amsler

PSY 240: The Brain, The Body, and the Mind

Sleep Deprivation, Disorders, and Drugs

Have you ever been deprived of sleep, not because you wanted to be, but because you had to be? This happened to me and I am sure countless other fathers. When my now 3-year-old daughter was born, I had to get used to going without sleep for long periods of time and learning to sleep for brief periods in between feedings, changes, and her sleep cycles. The struggle to adjust to the new schedule affected my mood, behavior, cognitive and motor skills.

Mood

During the time when I was caring for my infant daughter, the sleep deprivation that I experienced had a direct effect on my mood. Normally, I am an even-tempered, easy-going type of person. However, during this time with deprivation of sleep, I noticed that I would get frustrated with people and things easier. I would also feel more anxious and find it harder to relax to “catch up” on sleep. This coincides with recuperation theories of sleep that are described in the text Basics of Biopsychology. The text states that investigations have assessed the effects on human subjects of sleep-deprivation schedules ranging from a slightly reduced amount of sleep during one night to total sleep deprivation for several nights and found that even moderate amounts of sleep deprivation—for example, 3 or 4 hours in one night—have been found to show that sleep-deprived subjects display disturbances on various written tests of mood. (Pinel, 2007)

Behavior

Behavior can also be greatly impacted by reduction of sleep or deprivation of sleep. During the time of sleep deprivation, I experienced a change in behavior that included being unable to make minor decisions without having to concentrate much harder than when I had gotten more sleep. In the August 2004 issue of the journal Sleep, Dr. Timothy Roehrs, the Director of research at the Sleep...