Sleep Deprivation Paper

Sleep deprivation in the United States is a problem. According to Durmer and Dinges (2005) sleep deprivation affects nearly 20% of all adults in the United States. This means that in a room with 40 people, 8 of them are sleep deprived and more accident prone. Up to 50% of College students exhibit symptoms of daytime sleepiness and sleep deprivation (Herschner; Chervin, 2014). If so many people are sleep deprived, then studying the subject and making people aware of the effects of sleep deprivation is important for peoples’ safety, health and productivity. The Center for Disease Control states that sleep deprivation is linked to motor vehicle crashes and nodding off at work. (Centers for Disease Control) According to a poll conducted by Sleep in America, 66% of young adults stated that they had had incidences of drowsy driving. Out of, 1039 students, 16% reported falling asleep while driving. (Herschner, Chervin, 2014) 16% is an alarming number, considering how many people are on the road to and from school, or to and from work. Also stated by the Centers for Disease Control, sleep deprivation can also contribute to chronic …show more content…
The symptoms are fairly obvious, but often people just write these symptoms off and pay very little attention to them. Symptoms of sleep deprivation can include daytime sleepiness, the feeling of dozing off during the day, constant yawning, irritability and a lack of feeling restful in the morning (Better Health Channel, 2015). Identifying these symptoms on a consistent basis would likely indicate sleep deprivation. A sleep diary is recommended to keep track of sleep times, restfulness and any problems such as falling asleep or staying asleep. A sleep diary can help a medical professional get to the root cause of an individual’s sleep deprivation. Hopefully, then, a course of treatment can be