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Sleep Deprivation

Not getting enough sleep is a sure recipe for disaster. Chronic sleep deprivation has a significant negative effect on your health, safety, performance, and eventually pocket.

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There may be many reasons for lack of sleep. The stress you have to deal with in day-to-day life is one of the major causes. However, it often occurs due to disorders that are still not recognized by you or your doctor.

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You may not feel refreshed even after getting a typical night’s sleep. You might take it as ‘just the stress of work’ or 'just how you have always felt' but it is not normal. Due to lack of awareness and diagnosis, the consequences keep on compounding over the years.

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Consequences

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Short Term Consequences

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  • Decreased performance & alertness

  • Getting less sleep by as little as 1.5 hours can lead to a reduction in alertness and performance levels by 32%

  • Memory & cognitive impairment

    • Your memory and cognitive ability, which is the ability to think & process information, is also impaired

  • Stress in relationships

    • A spouse suffering from sleep disorder may cause major issues in a relationship (such as separate bedrooms, moodiness, conflicts, etc.).

  • Occupational injury

  • Sleepiness during daytime also contributes to a higher risk of occupational injury

  • Automobile injury

  • Lack of sleep leads to drowsy driving which is one of the major reasons for road accidents

 

The good thing is that after proper risk assessment, diagnosis, treatment and education, sleep deprivation can be managed and taken care of.

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Long Term Consequences

 

Untreated sleep disorders can lead to many clinical consequences and serious medical illnesses, such as

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  • High blood pressure

  • Obesity

  • Stroke

  • Heart failure

  • Heart attack

  • Psychiatric problems like depression & other mood disorders

  • Mental impairment

  • Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)

  • Fetal & childhood growth retardation

  • Overall poor quality of life

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Diagnosis

 

If you are suffering from sleep deprivation, your doctor will ask you to undergo polysomnogram - a sleep deprivation test. This test can be conducted at a sleep disorder center or also at home.

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A multiple-component test (also known as sleep study) is conducted on the patient in which the doctor will electronically transmit and record specific physical activities while the patient is asleep.

 

After that, a qualified sleep specialist will analyze those recordings to confirm if you’ve any type of sleep disorder. In case any sleep disorder is detected, the patient is asked to undergo more tests to confirm the best options available.

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Other Tests

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EEG (Electroencephalogram) Test

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  • This test is used to measure & record the activity of your brain waves.

 

EMG (Electromyogram) Test

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  • This test is performed to record your muscle activities during your sleep like teeth grinding, face twitching & leg movements. It is also used to determine whether there is any presence of REM stage sleep or not

    • In REM sleep, you’ll experience intense dreams as the activity of your brain is heightened

 

EOG (Electro-oculogram) Test

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  • The purpose of this test is to record your eye movements as these movements are crucial to determine different stages of your sleep, especially the REM stage sleep

 

ECG (electrocardiogram) Test

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  • This test is performed to record your heart rate & rhythm

 

Nasal Airflow Sensor

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  • This test is to record your nasal airflow

 

Snore Microphone Test

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  • The purpose of this test is to record snoring activity, if there is any

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Prevention

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  • Try to avoid too much noise or light in your room while trying to sleep. Create a dark and quiet environment with proper ventilation. Wearing eyeshades and earplugs can also help

 

  • Maintaining a proper level of humidity is also crucial as excessively dry air can lead to shrunk nasal passages and make it uncomfortable to breathe

 

  • If you are working in night shifts and don’t get enough sleep during the daytime, try to get your shift timings changed to the daytime to get better adjusted to the body's natural circadian rhythm

    • If there is no option available, try working in extra bright lights during night and wear black shades while going home and preparing for sleep 

    • It will help you to shift your circadian rhythm so that you can get better sleep in the daytime and remain more alert at night.

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