#DR. WHO SLEEP NO MORE SERIES#

Other medical or mental health problems, such as pain or general anxiety disorder, can interfere with the quality and quantity of sleep. For example, sleep apnea, a breathing disorder that induces dozens of nightly awakenings, may hinder both sleep duration and quality. Sleep deficiency may be caused by other sleep disorders or medical conditions. Shift workers who have to work through the night may also find it hard to get the amount of sleep that they really need. People who work multiple jobs or extended hours may not have enough time for sufficient sleep. Work obligations are another common contributor to sleep deprivation. An inconsistent sleep schedule may facilitate these decisions and make them feel less intentional in the moment.

#DR. WHO SLEEP NO MORE SERIES#

For example, a person who decides to stay up late to binge-watch a TV series may experience acute sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation is often driven by voluntary choices that reduce available sleep time. Multiple factors can cause or contribute to sleep deprivation including poor sleep hygiene, lifestyle choices, work obligations, sleep disorders, and other medical conditions.

There can be considerable overlap between how sleep deprivation and insomnia are described, but patients should be aware that their doctor or a sleep specialist may use more specific definitions.

Someone with insomnia, though, still struggles to sleep despite having the opportunity to do so. On the other hand, people with sleep deprivation don’t have enough time allocated for sleep as a result of behavior choices or everyday obligations.Īn illustration of this difference is that people who are sleep deprived because of a busy work schedule usually have no problems sleeping longer on weekends to try to “catch up” on sleep. People with insomnia have trouble sleeping even when they have plenty of time to sleep. While both insomnia and sleep deprivation involve failing to get enough sleep, many experts in sleep science make a distinction between them. Is Sleep Deprivation Different From Insomnia? Chronic sleep deficiency or insufficient sleep can describe ongoing sleep deprivation as well as poor sleep that occurs because of sleep fragmentation or other disruptions.Chronic sleep deprivation, also known as insufficient sleep syndrome, is defined by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine as curtailed sleep that persists for three months or longer.Acute sleep deprivation refers to a short period, usually a few days or less, when a person has a significant reduction in their sleep time.Sleep deprivation and sleep insufficiency may be categorized in different ways depending on a person’s circumstances. Are There Different Types of Sleep Deprivation?

This terminology can be distinct from everyday conversation in which the term sleep deprivation may be used with a wider meaning that refers to poor sleep overall and not just total sleep duration.Įven in the medical field, studies may use different technical definitions of sleep deprivation as some classify it as seven hours of sleep or fewer while others use six hours as the cutoff. For example, a person who sleeps for a total of eight hours but with many awakenings that fragment their sleep may have insufficient sleep even though their sleep duration technically meets the recommended amount.

In this way, sleep deficiency has a broader application. As a result, the terms sleep deficiency or sleep insufficiency are more frequently used to describe factors that reduce the quantity and/or quality of sleep and keep a person from waking up refreshed. In reality, though, being well-rested is about more than just how many hours you sleep. In sleep medicine, sleep deprivation is defined based on sleep duration, which is the total amount of time a person spends asleep. Are All Definitions of Sleep Deprivation the Same? Children and teens need even more nightly sleep than adults. The term sleep deprivation refers to getting less than the needed amount of sleep, which, for adults, ranges from seven to nine hours of sleep per night.

Dr. who sleep no more