The Impact of Sleep Deprivation on Health and Well-being

Quality sleep is crucial for maintaining overall health—physical, mental, and emotional. Without sufficient sleep, we may experience effects the following day, such as decreased energy levels needed to function optimally. A healthy adult typically needs 6-8 hours of sleep each night. When you don’t sleep for many days, it can cause sleep deprivation, which makes it hard to work or do tasks the next day. Skipping numerous periods of sleep can mean that you are building sleep debts. These debts can make the effects of sleep deprivation worsen over time. 

Read More: Shift Work Sleep Disorder

What are the Effects of Sleep Deprivation?

1. Daytime sleepiness: Not getting enough sleep can lead to daytime fatigue and difficulty concentrating on tasks during the day. It can also lead to brief episodes of microsleep.
2. Deterioration of health: Lack of sleep can increase the risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, and stroke. Sometimes underlying health conditions may also disrupt sleep patterns.
3. Reduced immune system function: Without enough sleep, the immune system may not work as efficiently as usual and could slow down making individuals prone to abnormalities.

Microsleep—An Effect of Sleep Deprivation 

Researchers use the term “microsleep” to describe brief sleep episodes lasting 15 seconds or less. It is also a result of sleep deprivation. During microsleep, the brain temporarily stops processing external information and disengages from the environment. This phenomenon is quite common and can occur involuntarily. Every one of us has experienced microsleep in our lives, but the experiences might vary from person to person. For some, it might be nodding off your head briefly without realizing it, while others may keep their eyes open, experience attention lapses, pupil dilation etc.

Read More: Impact of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Thinking

How long can you go without sleep?

Some individuals can go without sleep with no noticeable effects for 25 hours. The longest recorded time without sleep is 11 days or 264 hours. As the duration of sleep deprivation increases, so does the severity of its effects on the individual. Generally, many of us have wondered how long a person can stay awake without sleep. In 1963, 17-year-old Randy Gardner undertook a science fair project to explore this question. As an ambitious overachiever, he set a world record by staying awake for 11 days and 25 minutes straight. His achievement earned him a place in the Guinness World Records. He’ll forever hold the record because they got rid of the category after him, due to the dangers of prolonged sleep deprivation.

From this sleep experiment, researchers discovered that a person can go without sleep for up to 11 days or 264 hours. However, symptoms typically begin to kick in just after one night of no sleep. Sleep deprivation won’t kill you, but can get things ugly. It might have negative consequences like mood changes, low attention span, slower reaction time and even hallucinations. As hours without sleep increase, these effects become more pronounced. Here’s how our body tends to respond when we get no sleep,

24 hours

Going without sleep for 24 hours can impair cognitive functioning similar to intoxication. Research from 2010 indicates that sleep deprivation for 20-25 hours can result in cognitive changes comparable to having a blood alcohol content of 0.10% which exceeds the legal limit of Blood alcohol content (i.e. 0.08%). This level of impairment is equivalent to being legally drunk and not safe to drive, in many places. Additionally, 24 hours of sleep deprivation can lead to symptoms such as:

• Anxiety
• Irritability 
• Impaired judgment 
• Lack of concentration
• Problems with cognition or thinking
• Temporary memory loss or brain fog
• Lower performance at school or work

36 hours

Going without 36 hours of sleep can bring a much heavier impact on one’s health, including mood swings, changes in brain function, increased stress hormone (cortisol) levels, and physical symptoms such as:

• Anger
• Fatigue 
• Illusions 
• Confusion
• Blurred vision
• Double vision 
• Lack of motivation 
• Visual hallucinations
• Reduced concentration 

48 hours

After 48 hours without sleep, in addition to the ongoing symptoms there might be symptoms of depersonalization and derealization, making the experience particularly challenging and uncomfortable.

• Depersonalization: It’s a feeling of estrangement or detachment from one’s body. It is as if you’re viewing your life as a movie but as an audience.
• Derealization: It is a feeling that involves a sense of unreality or detachment from the outside world. It’s as if the environment is dreamlike or distorted.

72 hours

Going without sleep for 3 days or 72 hours can bring:

• Hostility 
• Depression 
• Memory loss
• Feeling detached from one’s body
• Auditory disturbances, like not recognizing the source of sounds

More than 72 hours

Going without sleep for more than 3 days or 72 hours can have severe effects on one’s health. It doesn’t cause death directly but can worsen one’s ongoing symptoms. Generally here, there are no thoughts that occupy your mind other than sleep. The resulting symptoms can resemble psychosis, involving a loss of touch with reality. Some common and severe symptoms after three whole days without sleep include,

• Visual hallucinations 
• Auditory hallucinations 
• Delirium (a distorted perception of reality)

Read More: Understanding and Managing the Impact of Sleep Debt on Health

Conclusion 

The longest someone has gone without sleep is 11 days or 264 hours, but it’s dangerous to do so. The effects of sleep deprivation can begin after just 24 hours. Good quality sleep is required for the healthy functioning of the human body. Therefore, it’s important to focus on good sleep habits, like keeping a consistent bedtime, making your sleep environment comfortable, and relaxing before bed. If you’re having ongoing sleep problems, it’s a good idea to talk to a doctor.

FAQs

1. How long can one go without sleep before feeling the effects?

• Typically, it’s about 24 hours one can go without sleep before feeling the effects of sleep deprivation. Just right after 24 hours, all the effects will start to kick in. Within this time, our energy levels drop, and our brain signals a need for sleep.

2. How much sleep is recommended for healthy living?

• Generally, 7-8 hours of sleep per night is required for adults for optimal physical and cognitive functioning.

3. What are the short-term effects of sleep deprivation?

• Short-term effects of sleep deprivation might include mood changes, lack of concentration, blurred vision, impaired memory, decreased attention span and more.

4. Can sleep deprivation cause long-term health conditions?

• Yes, chronic sleep deprivation can increase the risk of developing heart disease, kidney problems, diabetes, obesity and various mental health conditions.

5. Can sleep deprivation cause death?

• No, it doesn’t. Sleep deprivation doesn’t cause death directly but might worsen the symptoms experienced. Prolonged sleep deprivation can lead to visual, and auditory hallucinations and even Delirium.