Sleep Deprivation Studies

Sleep deprivation studies on sleep deprivation effects. The effects of lack of sleep and the danger of sleep deprivation.

Effects of Lack of Sleep

Do you somehow believe that you must get more done by sleeping less? Chronic sleep deprivation deteriorates performance drastically. If you are sleepy, you are much more likely to make mistakes that you would never make if you are well rested. The mind is more likely to wander and become less able to concentrate.

Sleep Deprivation and Reaction Time

As Dement suggests, “Many times I have heard students describe staring blankly at a page or computer screen for 5 or 10 minutes before ‘coming to’ and remembering what they were doing. One student described the experience of typing the word ‘the’ as ‘t-e-h’, staring at the misspelling a full 60 seconds, erasing it, and then typing again ‘t-e-h’”.

Sleep Set Point

Research suggests that every person needs a specific amount of sleep that is analogous to our body temperate set point. This amount can be altered in the short term by drawing on temporary reserves, but cannot be sustained in the long time.

Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison once vilified a full night’s sleep as a symptom of moral and physical decay. In fact, he separates his sleep into small one to two hour segments throughout the day. When Henry Ford visited Edison one day and was told that Edison was not to be disturbed because he was napping, he said ‘I thought Mr Edison didn’t sleep much.’ Edison’s assistant replied, ‘Oh, he doesn’t. He just naps a lot.’