Sleepwise Sleep Clinics and Therapy

Sleepwise provides professional sleep therapy services and advice, including clinics, one-to-one appointments, self-help products, CDs, articles and free products. Keywords: sleep clinic, sleep apnea, pure sleep, sleep experts, sleep depot, sit and sleep, sleep matters, sleep therapist, sleep management, sleep products, sleep help, sleep consultancy, sleep workshop, coaching, training, CPD.  

Sleep & Stress
Consultants
since
1999

Therapists

If you are professionally qualified and provide help to clients with sleep problems, we would like to invite you to join the Sleepwise Register.

Sleepwise Sleep Clinics and Therapy

Sleepwise provides professional sleep therapy services and advice, including clinics, one-to-one appointments, self-help products, CDs, articles and free products. Keywords: sleep clinic, sleep apnea, pure sleep, sleep experts, sleep depot, sit and sleep, sleep matters, sleep therapist, sleep management, sleep products, sleep help, sleep consultancy, sleep workshop, coaching, training, CPD.  

Sleep Deprivation

Being sleep deprived is a serious condition that, when associated with driving or operating machinery, can put both the sufferer and people they come into contact with at serious risk. The serious symptoms of sleep deprivation are unlikely to occur after a single bad night’s sleep, however everyone is different. Some people happily exist on less than six hours sleep every night, while others are like a ‘bear with a sore head’ if they fail to get their eight hours just one night.

Not getting your normal amount of sleep is often referred to as a ‘sleep deficit’ and there are ways you can plan to reduce the deficit from one or two nights sleep, however if the deficit becomes persistent, sleep deprivation can start, and can result in increased health risks and more immediate mental ability problems.

Increased Risk

When involved for long periods, in a stressful activity or an activity which requires high levels of concentration, mental fatigue can cause sleep deprivation symptoms to occur a lot sooner. So the effects of just one night’s bad sleep coupled with a persistent stressful activity maybe enough to start the sleep deprivation symptoms.

Brain Scans

The PET Brain Scans on the right give an indication of brain function during periods of sleep deprivation compared to other brain states. It is significant to note how the sleep deprived state has a more similar pattern to Non-REM sleep (sleep when you are not dreaming) or possibly those of an alcoholic, than normal wakefulness. Being sleep deprived is often quoted as have the same level of mental alertness as someone more than twice the legal drink drive alcohol limit.

Symptoms

Generally, a persistent lack of sleep may result in:

   aching muscles

   mental and physical fatigue

   anger and temper problems

   confusion, memory lapses or loss

   poor concentration

   reduced auditory attention

   reduced ability to plan and coordinate

   reduced communicative abilities

   poor decision making

   reduced ability to manage complex and multiple problems

   reduced memory consolidation

    visual awareness and recognition problems

   irrational anxiety

   irritability

   emotional sensitivity

   depression

   hallucinations

   hand tremors

   headaches

   bodily inflammation

   bloodshot eyes

   periorbital puffiness, commonly known as "bags under eyes"

    increased blood pressure

   increased stress hormone levels

   increased risk of diabetes

   increased risk of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome

   increased risk of heart disease

   nystagmus (rapid involuntary eye movement)

   increased risk of weight gain

    excessive yawning

   micro sleeps

   symptoms similar to:

       Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

       Psychosis

Micro Sleeps

When a person starts to experience sleep deprivation they might start to experience micro sleeps. This is when the brain automatically shuts down, and the person falls into a sleep state for a period that can last from a second to half a minute. This happens no matter what activity he or she is engaged in. Microsleeps are similar to blackouts and a person experiencing them is not consciously aware that they are occurring.

Weight Gain

It is currently believed that sleep loss disturbs the endocrine regulation of energy homeostasis leading to weight gain and obesity. A reduction of sleep duration to 4 hours for two consecutive nights has recently been shown to decrease circulating leptin levels and to increase ghrelin levels, as well as self-reported hunger. Similar endocrine alterations have been shown to occur even after a single night of sleep restriction.

Bodily Inflammation

Inflammation is your body's response to stress - whether from your diet, lifestyle, environment, infection or lack of sleep. It has a purpose, for example; when you catch a cold. You may experience inflammation in the form of a fever as your body heats up to eradicate the effects of the invading virus. This kind of short term inflammation is good. However, the persistent inflammation commonly associated with sleep deprivation destroys the balance in your body, especially when you are also experiencing inflammation from other sources, such as your diet or stress, or when you are also fighting off an illness. When your body's systems experience a constant inflammatory response, you become more susceptible to aging, health problems, infection and disease.

The above PET Scan Brain images were supplied courtesy of Novo-Mediimage
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