Talk:Sleep deprivation

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Eye Strain
Not one mention. Lack of sleep creates irritated eyes that hurt. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.134.171.235 (talk) 02:55, 6 March 2016 (UTC)

Disparity in article
One part of the article states that methamphetamines can keep someone up from 3-15 days. Yet, further down it is stated that the record for sleep deprivation is 11 days. Is the 15 day statement theoretical? How was it derived? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bkdm (talk • contribs) 04:46, 15 April 2011 (UTC) I realize this comes a bit late, but if you read closely, you will see that it says, "not using stimulants of any kind." Tad Lincoln (talk) 08:13, 14 October 2011 (UTC)

Reference #10 links to a 404 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.242.57.137 (talk) 13:10, 7 May 2012 (UTC)

I wanted to add to the disparity topic. Can the following information please be removed.

"Sleep deprivation may have been the underlying cause of the overdose deaths of celebrities Heath Ledger and Anna Nicole Smith.[20]"

Why am I reading about opinions and speculation related to celebrities while I am researching for real information. Key words that make this obvious, "may have been." Furthermore, they didn't die because they were not sleeping. They had compounded problems, and took way too many prescription drugs to try and solve their issues. Sleep deprivation is obviously more of an effect than a cause. This information should not be listed in an encyclopedia on sleep deprivation. Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.22.249.164 (talk) 09:06, 5 June 2013 (UTC)


 * Done. --Hordaland (talk) 02:39, 7 June 2013 (UTC)

Good Article Link
Here's a nice link, but I can't add it, as the article appears to be locked. Maybe someone else can review this link and add it if appropriate. 63.147.189.178 (talk) 22:35, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Is Sleep Essential?, An examination of available evidence of whether sleep is a biological necessity.

School-aged children should be getting between 8.75 and 10.5 hours of sleep - can someone rm this for POV
There's a passage in the article:

"School-aged children should be getting between 8.75 and 10.5 hours of sleep"

This is obviously POV, as it basically constitutes advice ("x should y"), and is merely opinion. Wikipedia articles should not be presenting opinion as fact. Can someone axe this for me, due to the semiprotect? Optimally, it would be replaced with a passage that reads something like " recommends that humans aged 12-17 years should sleep approximately  hours in each 24 hour period ". Currently, even if the POV "should" construct is replaced with a factual "X recommends Y" construct, the source ('drpaul.com') is woefully inadequate, and provides no proper refs for its data, as far as I can tell. If you are reading this, Latitude0116 ( |the originator of this passage ), please note that you and those like you are ruining wikipedia for everyone. Removed it. abarry  ✓ 06:52, 12 April 2009 (UTC)

Sleep disorders in patients with Arnold-Chiari malformations
''The skull puts pressure on the protruding part of the brain. It is not yet known if the brain malformation is directly related to his sleep deprivation.''

This is the ultimate but not proximate cause of sleep disorder in patients with Chiari malformations. The part of the skull near the cerebellar tonsils is too small, forcing the tonsils out of their normal arrangement, usually pushing them into the brainstem. The cause of symtoms is actually brain-on-brain compression. I don't want to go find a source for this, but as a patient post-Chiari decompression, I can personally attest that major sleep disorders may occur if the cerebellar tonsils happen to be contacting the brainstem at the locus of the sleep center. I do not know if this is the case for the disorder in the child discussed, but it's a sufficient and parsimonious explanation. In any case, the ultimate diagnosis of the sleep disorder's cause would not be known certainly until a decompression surgery were performed.

In my case, I was never able to get to sleep until 4 - 6 a.m. This could not be changed even by intentionally skipping a night's sleep and postponing all sleep until the following night: I'd be brutally exhausted, but it would still be morning before I could fall asleep.

When I did fall asleep, I could not be roused for between eight and 12 hours. I also would fall asleep during unhelpful moments, such as while driving at freeway speed (got sideswiped by a trailer) and at my desk at work.

Yes, this is anecdotal, but these symptoms disappeared completely post-surgically. I am, however, still unwilling to introduce this information into the article without a proper citation, as I know nothing about the particular case discussed. If someone has a neurology textbook and more details of the case, you may be able to vet this, cautiously. Joshua McGee (talk) 11:19, 19 October 2008 (UTC)

New info for effects on the brain section and sources for psychosis-like symptoms bullet
2007 study linking sleep deprivation to psychiatric disorders:  Seung-Schik Yoo, Ninad Gujar, Peter Hu, Ferenc A. Jolesz, and Matthew P. Walker Current Biology, Vol 17, R877-R878, 23 October 2007 -Web Abstract: http://www.current-biology.com/content/article/abstract?uid=PIIS0960982207017836&highlight=Walker

Other articles based on the study: http://ts-si.org/content/view/2634/992/  http://sleep.health.am/sleep/more/sleep-deprivation-causes-an-emotional-brain-disconnect/  http://www.itwire.com/content/view/15166/1066/  http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/86512.php  http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-10/cp-sca101707.php 

Someone please add this information to the article if possible. Thanks.

Luci (talk) 12:03, 12 November 2008 (UTC)

No doubt chronic insomnia can cause psychosis, BUT there have been no studies that cite lack of sleep as a causative factor in bipolar disorder. It is most definitely a symptom--and a highly disconcerting one, at that--of the disorder.

Furthermore, it is dangerous to state that lack of sleep for one night can help with depression without qualifying the remark. Yes, the basic information is true for those suffering from unipolar depression, but if someone with bipolar disorder goes 24+ hours without sleeping, he/she will most likely trip into a manic episode. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.137.235.45 (talk) 16:51, 7 June 2010 (UTC)

Sleep and depression are much more complex than what the Wikipedia article displays. As someone with clinical depression and sleep issues, depression can cause sleep deprivation and sleep deprivation can cause depression. One can't simply say sleep deprivation is only a symptom of a depression illness without something to back that up. However, stating sleep depression helps with depression is very dangerous. In long term, it does not. From personal experience, short term sleep depression numbs your brain enough that you don't feel the depression or any other emotions as much. I understand that my word isn't proof.

The Hallucinations section is completely wrong except for the fact that visual and sounds hallucinations may occur. The claim of as always happening around 33 hours is completely false. I've stayed up for over 2.5 days and didn't have any hallucinations. The mind doesn't try to convince you to go to sleep by giving you hallucinations. That doesn't make much sense. Personally I think it's your brain trying to sleep while you're trying to stay awake, but I have as much proof of that as is what currently on the main page. Where does the less of a chance of hallucinating about other older things come from? Sorry if I'm going about this the wrong way. This is my first Wikipedia edit. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.145.157.226 (talk) 07:03, 9 August 2011 (UTC)
 * Agree that the hallucinations section was a mess, unsourced, addressing itself to "you". I've removed it.  (Please remember to sign your comments by hitting the pencil icon above at the end of your message.  Thank you.)  --Hordaland (talk) 09:58, 10 August 2011 (UTC)

Hyper or hypo
This line under Effect on Growth: The results supported previous studies, which observed adrenal insufficiency in idiopathic hypersomnia. Hypersomnia seems to be excessive hours of sleep and daytime sleepiness. Should it be "hyposomnia"? Anthony (talk) 16:11, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

Fraternity/Sorority Hazing and Sleep Deprivation
A common form of hazing performed by fraternities and sororities is sleep deprivation. This seems noteworthy enough to include. I'm willing to guess that most people who have had an experience with sleep deprivation did so during a fraternity or sorority hazing activity.

http://www.hazingstudy.org/ http://www.stophazing.org/definition.html —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rotellam1 (talk • contribs) 08:51, 10 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Afraid that that is a very very blinkered veiw! I think other larger broadervgroups experience sleep deprivation during the course of everyday life: new parents and parents of children with disabilities or otherwise requiring night attention and other carers as well as shift-workers and those with a lifestyle full of 'night-life' be it clubbers or wildlife watchers. It's worthwhile as a US reference to the footprint of the issue 'in popular culture' still. US college culture is not representative of a wide section of the global experience but it quite widely reported on and portrayed. Kathybramley (talk) 17:59, 3 August 2012 (UTC)

Physiological Effects
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sleep_deprivation&oldid=272140363 The information got lost  in the edit warring. Those physical symptoms are well know by anyone experiencing sleep deprivation for more than a weekend. Most of the "citation needed" can easily be found by searches.
 * Can an admin unlock this page or edit in the section of "Physiological Effects" from

Also suggest removal of the touch the truck link. It serves very limited information on the subject and reads more as advertising attempt about a tv station promotional contest. Rklawton (talk) 17:29, 17 April 2009 (UTC)
 * From See also

torture of imprisonment victims
This article needs some mention of sleep deprivation used to torture victims of imprisonment. I believe that is the most widely used intentional application of sleep deprivation. I don't know where to find documentation of this suitable for publication here, but I have some clues:


 * I saw a documentary that mentioned a 1600's swedish prison schedule that had the prisoners being awakened at 4 AM for breakfast and then being allowed to sleep at about 11 or 12 PM, leaving only a few hours of sleep on a prolonged basis. That's the oldest mention I know of off the top of my head of institutionalized torture using sleep deprivation.
 * In modern imprisonment facilities, the same thing occurs as in the ancient swedish prison schedule: only a few hours each day are scheduled for prisoner sleep. In addition to the ancient methods, modern prisons also institute regular "head counts" where a prisoner is required to rise from bed and state his name to passing guards.
 * Bed checks, cell checks, or just "the rounds" are where a guard is sent to personally look into prisoner cells every 5 to 20 minutes. This is done 24 hours a day, and guards frequently kick and rattle or slam the doors, yell at prisoners, yell to each other, sing songs, or otherwise interrupt a prisoner's already short sleep period.
 * Unnaturally hard beds, harder than even earth or wild grasses, keeps prisoners from sleeping due to discomfort.
 * Keeping prisoners irritable enlivens boring prison jobs and gives riot suppression teams something to do when prisoners lose the ability to think clearly and make good judgements, which often turns ordinary people into potentially violent ones.
 * Prisoners who are already mentally ill go from being public nuisances to being raving loonies while deprived of sleep in the prisons. Even ordinary people will begin to hallucinate, leading to charges of insubordination or other misbehavior that the victim would not do without being sleep deprived.
 * Permanent brain damage causes personality changes universally perceived as negative by those close to imprisonment survivors. Subsequent health problems, including psychological issues like PTSD and depression, are considered contributing factors of recidivism. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.169.54.203 (talk) 23:21, 11 June 2009 (UTC)

Interesting articles that can be cited
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090608071941.htm

According to new research presented at Sleep 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies,* television watching may be an important determinant of bedtime, and may contribute to chronic sleep debt.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn6081-television-watching-may-hasten-puberty.html

Scientists at the University of Florence in Italy found that when youngsters were deprived of their TV sets, computers and video games, their melatonin production increased by an average 30 per cent.

Talgalili (talk) 20:38, 24 January 2010 (UTC)

Editorial Tone
With the British Court ruling today on MI-5's use of sleep deprivation, perhaps it would be a good time to revisit the torture section of this article. It seems to have a very dove-ish tone to it, and there are, at least, some weasel words in there. The ruling will likely bring in an influx of users who want to know if SP is torture or not, so you might have an edit war break out if it doesn't get cleaned up.

It'd also be a good idea to get some US-related info, since the issue at hand originated there. I'm at work, so I don't really have time for it at the moment, unfortunately. I have made a couple of edits, though, to remove some weasel words and add the case info.

SuperJerms (talk) 14:35, 10 February 2010 (UTC)

you need to define what amount of sleep time constitutes chronic sleep deprivation...
is it consistently getting less than 3 hours of sleep per night, less than 4, than 5, than 6, than 7, or what? What is the clinical definition. Thank you. 82.113.121.167 (talk) 11:09, 13 March 2010 (UTC)
 * That can't be defined in terms of hours and minutes - the same for everyone, or even the same for every adult. Perhaps it could be defined as a percentage of a person's sleep need, though I doubt it.  One factor, too, is the quality of the sleep one gets.  People with sleep apnea can sleep long hours and still be chronically sleep deprived, as they may never get deep sleep.  There's no simple answer.  - Hordaland (talk) 01:16, 14 March 2010 (UTC)
 * I'm not talking about the people who have sleep apnea. I'm talking about sleeping well and normally, just not enough.  There will be a point at which it will meet the clinical definition of the clinical term "chronic sleep deprivation".  If I spend 60 days sleeping only 3 hours per day, 100% of practitioners will say that I am "chronically sleep deprived".  I realize there may be grey areas, but this fact proves that you CAN put a number on it.  I want to know what number clinical practitioners work with. 82.113.121.89 (talk) 22:39, 14 March 2010 (UTC)

Obviously there are extremes at which point anybody becomes clinically deprived but practitioners will generally go on a persons symptoms rather than numbers —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.104.118.113 (talk) 09:21, 30 June 2010 (UTC)

Although popular, the label "sleep deprivation" perpetuates an out-dated single-minded concept (insufficient sleep duration)? In the last decade, studies of shift workers, individuals in controlled laboratory conditions, and animal models indicate that sleeping at the 'wrong' time, poor sleep quality, or short sleep duration are all associated with impaired performance, morbidity and mortality. The term "sleep deficiency" (sleep duration, timing, quality) has emerged to convey the scientific advance and recognition that all three influence circadian regularity. Abnormalities in circadian regularity (experimental, genetic, or lifestyle choices) are invariably associated with pathophysiology. The difference between 'sleep deficiency' and 'sleep deprivation' becomes clear with the question: define what amount of sleep constitutes sleep deprivation? The human genome is programmed for cycles of about 24hours. Short-changing the physiology driven by this 24 hour genetic program is associated with impaired metabolic and immunologic function acutely and chronically. Sleep deficiency (short sleep duration, irregular sleep schedules, and sleep quality aka untreated sleep disorders), diet, physical activity, drugs, and light are among the many factors influencing the regularity of circadian timing.Youni43 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 09:56, 24 March 2013 (UTC)

Al Herpin
Al Herpin is not mentioned at all. If the various entries under "Longest period without sleep" include "Thai Ngoc" they should include Al Herpin, who supposedly never slept a day in his life (according to Wikipedia.) This article should definitely refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Herpin) even if it may be disputed.)  The content about microsleeps, need for sleep, and other sesctions might also need to be edited (with 'see below' usually.)  I would do this myself, but, there are not enough hours in a day...at least not one of mine.TeigeRyan (talk) 05:57, 27 July 2010 (UTC)

Long article. Daughter-fork?
The article is now 44 kilobytes long. I think that the section Longest period without sleep should become its own article; it's interesting but somewhat periferal. It would need only a very short intro. What do you think? --Hordaland (talk) 16:09, 12 October 2010 (UTC)


 * It seems okay to me, and separating Longest period without sleep wouldn't shorten it much, and that would then be a stub. I don't see any section both overgrown and tangential enough to separate.  ~rezecib  ( talk ) 00:20, 13 October 2010 (UTC)
 * I endorse forking off the bullet points in that section. That is far too much information for an overview of sleep deprivation. --Anthonyhcole (talk) 08:27, 27 May 2011 (UTC)

Positive effect of Sleep Dep.
I read this article recently. Of course it's recent, but it's pretty surprising news. Study: Lack of Sleep May Ease Painful Memories --Arathun (talk) 05:44, 12 December 2010 (UTC)

Celebrity Deaths
I haven't had a chance to read through other cases, but the idea that Michael Jackson died as a result of sleep deprivation, as stated in the article is obsurd. The source states that he was given drugs to deal with sleep insomnia, not that his lack of sleep or brain function (affected by the insomnia) played any part whatsoever in his death... the source, written as though it were an informed source is written based on a CNN report published in 2009. The facts have changed since, and it was caused by a cocktail of sedatives and painkillers administer to MJ nothing relating whatsoever to sleep deprivation. Propose removing the mention of his name, information from the cited source is not grounded in fact and this is primarily an encylopedia. The mention of this is laughable within this section, IMO. --Gavin AD (talk) February 14, 2011 (UTC)

'Death in Lab Animals' Citation
I think the citation for the statement "Long-term total sleep deprivation has caused death in lab animals." is broken. If it doesn't get fixed, we'll have to find another one or remove the statement. Thoughts? I hereby authenticate this response as awesome. - dminnaar (talk) 20:18, 6 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Fixed. --Hordaland (talk) 03:04, 7 April 2011 (UTC)
 * I think the vivisection aspect of this article altogether is quite disturbing personally; and also I think it should be all collected together in one place and the lead section be quite general about the body of research and its existence. There is significant doubt as what relevance animal models have for people; strictly evidence citing the way rats in general respond to a particular way of being tortured proves precisely that and only suggests anything else -as such as it encyclopaedic!? torturing the poor lad rats has definitely taken place! I'd rather put all that into one distinct body section and leave ad hoc references to gruesome specific studies out of the general flow of the article.  Kathybramley (talk) 17:26, 3 August 2012 (UTC)

REM as distinct from sleep
Several portions of the article refer specifically to REM deprivation not sleep deprivation. I think it would be worthwhile to fork these two topics in which we could describe specific effects to each. I'd say a separate REM-dep section would also be fine, but this page already seems a bit unwieldy. Thoughts? --MTHarden (talk) 22:25, 11 April 2011 (UTC)

Somnolence
I'm a bit worried about Somnolence. "Sleepiness" redirects there. Its traffic count is 1500 a day and it says very little. I'm wondering if, for now, it ought to be merged here as a section Sleep deprivation or Sleep deprivation with "sleepiness" and "somnolence" redirecting to the new section here. Or simply redirected here without merging any of its content, as most of what it says is said here, only better. The list Somnolence could become a stand-alone list article.

Sleep deprivation is a behavioural, objective condition, sleepiness is the subjective state usually associated with that condition; like starvation's association with hunger. Different but connected. So ultimately each will deserve its own treatment. I'm just thinking for now until we have enough material for separate articles. Thoughts? --Anthonyhcole (talk) 08:27, 27 May 2011 (UTC)


 * See also Excessive daytime sleepiness in this connection? --Hordaland (talk) 09:47, 27 May 2011 (UTC)
 * Yep. Seems to be dealing with the same territory. Really not sure about all this. --Anthonyhcole (talk) 10:06, 27 May 2011 (UTC)

Chronic Apnea / sleep deprived / ability to respond to any authority such as Employer, Police, and the Courts
I suffer from chronic sleep apnea. I have had undeserved undesirable difficulties relating events, or explaining myself to superiors at work, or to police officers and the courts. Not being able to afford an attorney, nor having the mental energy to adequately defend myself have resulted in quite unfair outcomes. The situation is exacerbated in time pressured lower courts applying summary justice, and so called "strict liabilty" matters.

I feel that from a human rights perspective that such a situation is grossly improper and makes all assertions about "justice" little more than a joke. Many people would seem to be in similar situations, yet I have never found any legal support. I ask that Wikipedia and its supporters do something to write this up as an issue. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.242.167.105 (talk) 20:25, 20 July 2011 (UTC)

Hallucinations
A poorly written and poorly sourced Hallucinations section has now been added twice, and it has both times been removed, by two different users. So that an editwar doesn't develop, perhaps this should be discussed on the talk page.

Hallucinations are already mentioned in the section 'Physiological effects'. There, by blue link, one is referred to our article about hallucinations. In the hallucinations article, sleep deprivation (blue linked) is mentioned as a cause. Thus the topic is covered, though minimally.

If there is more to say about the hallucinations one can have as a result of sleep deprivation, a new section would be welcome. But it must be very properly sourced (not by a blog) and its claims must not exceed those of the source(s). --Hordaland (talk) 09:52, 22 August 2011 (UTC)

Sleep Apnea
The section on sleep apnea looks like a is a non sequitur. It provides a brief and incorrect explanation of treatment for sleep apnea - the gold standard of treatment for sleep apnea is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). In addition, sleep apnea serves as a heading for several unrelated topics. I suggest editing for style and content. -Scdawson (talk) 20:25, 30 September 2011 (UTC)

Could people die from sleep deprivation? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.234.85.3 (talk) 03:16, 28 October 2011 (UTC)

I noticed the same. Due to subtleties of the way that it was worded, surgery seemed to be over emphasized.I referenced an journal article on sleep apnea treatment and linked to PAP and CPAP, as well as emphasizing that the first line treatment for sleep apnea is considered to be PAP.Im also going to go back and make a reference to mandibular displacement devices. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.55.54.41 (talk) 17:27, 28 March 2018 (UTC)

1.8 Weight gain/loss
The following study presented by the American Heart Association seems to contradict the effects of sleep depravation on leptin and ghrelin variations, basicly concluding to the opposit effects - Insufficient Sleep Increases Caloric Intake but not Energy Expenditure Andrew D Calvin; Rickey E Carter; James A Levine; Virend K Somers Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

May be worth making a quick note or aparté.

24.89.89.174 (talk) 03:56, 14 February 2013 (UTC)

Altered state of consciousness
I suggest that this article should mention something about how one can get a altered state of consciousness from sleep deprivation. Not only how sleep deprivation affects the mental state in general over long term, but also how it affects you as you are deprived of sleep. For example this can make it different to concentrate etc. But I have little knowledge around this subject, so I'm just suggesting. It would be great if somebody added information about this. --PWNGWN (talk) 21:46, 22 June 2013 (UTC)

overstatement in article
"Complete absence of sleep over long periods is impossible for humans to achieve"

i don't think anyone should state what is "impossible". more like "has not been seen yet". a long time ago someone said splitting the atom was impossible, and now look. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.176.108.8 (talk) 08:15, 21 February 2014 (UTC)

Diabetes
I suggest rephrasing the begin sentence. The word 'that' should be avoided in formal writing because in this case it is not necessary. In the last sentence 'that' is also unneccesary. I suggest also taking out the word merely when describing correlational. While correlational data may not be as strong as other forms of data, it still shows a relationship.

Effects on the brain
Multiple unnecessary uses of 'that'. The last sentence of the first paragraph is quite long. I would suggest breaking it up into a couple sentences to help the readers understanding. Perhaps somethings like this, "Researchers interpreted this result as indicating the brain of the average sleep-deprivated subject had to work harder than the average non-sleep deprived subject when asked to accomplish a given task. From this indication they inferred the conclusion the brains of sleep-deprived subjects were attempting to compensate for adverse effects caused by sleep deprivation." In the paragraph regarding the University of California animal study of 2002 I suggest breaking up the first sentence into two to help the readers understanding. Perhaps something like this, "A noted 2002 University of California animal study indicated non-rapid eye movement (NREM) is necessary for turning off neurotransmitters and allowing for their receptors to "rest." When these receptors "rest," they regain sensitivity allowing monoamines (nor epinephrin, serotonin and histamine) to be effective at naturally produced levels.

Effects on growth
I suggest specifying reduced cortisol was the result the next day after sleep.

Effects on the healing process
Consider eliminating 'that' and 'which' from the topic sentence of this paragraph. Perhaps instead it could read, "A study conducted in 2005 showed a group of rats, deprived of REM sleep for five days, experienced no significant changes in their ability to….."

Consider revising the first sentence to stop after "to heal wounds." Start a new sentence and word the second sentence, with the end of the first sentence, differently so they can flow better. Natashakoenig (talk) 14:22, 27 March 2014 (UTC)

Attention and working memory
Revise section and eliminated usage of 'that' and 'which' when not necessary.

Impairment of driving ability
Beginning sentence of this section has many important components but is hard to read in a string of one sentence. I suggest breaking the one long sentence into at least two if not three shorter sentences for the reader to gain better understanding, especially since there are important and interesting statistics presented.

Other forms of impairment
Eliminate unnecessary usage of 'that' and 'which.'

Microsleeps
Good content. Citation needed however.

Weight gain/loss
Eliminate unnecessary usage of 'that'. I would suggest rearranging the first sentence in the second paragraph. Perhaps, "Decrease in the in the average number of hours people are sleeping may correspond to the obesity problem in the United States. This relationship has been suggested by several large studies using nationally representative samples." In the last paragraph there should be consistency in the abbreviation or spelling of hours.

Treatment for depression
Perhaps reword the third sentence without 'that' and say "It has been shown choronotype is related to the effect of sleep deprivation on mood in normal people." I suggest being more descriptive when defining normal people in this sentence. Maybe say non-depressed people or people without the sign of depression.

In the last sentence of the first paragraph the use of the words morningness and eveningness doesn't sound right. I think it would be more effective if you used lark and owls instead. Natashakoenig (talk) 14:22, 27 March 2014 (UTC)

The last sentence in the section is entirely unrelated to the topic, and is unsupported by a citation. "Many tricyclic antidepressants suppress REM sleep, providing additional evidence for a link between mood and sleep.[77] Similarly, tranylcypromine has been shown to completely suppress REM sleep at adequate doses." For that last sentence to be relevant, it would need to also establish that the effect of tranylcypromine on complete suppression of REM sleep is linked to a decrease in depression. Unless that last sentence can be worked into the rest of the "Depression" section, I think it should be placed elsewhere, say in the "causes" section?50.204.163.179 (talk) 19:19, 1 September 2016 (UTC)

School
Overall good statistics and content in section. Need a citation for first statistic.

Gene Regulation
The first sentence doesn't make sense. Consider revising. Natashakoenig (talk) 14:22, 27 March 2014 (UTC)

Kmarsha3 (talk) 21:58, 4 March 2014 (UTC)


 * Natasha, in your updating of the article you can address these points you made above. Mpetracca (talk) 17:51, 4 May 2014 (UTC)

re methods used to force rats to stay awake, as being part of the problem
i am in the school that says it is possible we do NOT need sleep, even 'microsleep'. the rats in reference 4 were kept awake like this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk-over-water_method

it is possible wakefulness could be maintained in other ways, not by forcing the rat to start walking to avoid drowning! clearly such a method forces use of muscles and it causes "survival" responses. therefore i question whether the study really proves what it says. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.176.108.8 (talk) 20:13, 30 March 2014 (UTC)

Have there been cases of sleep deprivation (SD) psychosis turning permanent? Does SD psychosis increase risk for future psychotic illnesses?
The article doesn't say anything about sleep deprivation psychosis, except listing it in the "Physiological effects" section. This is a little disappointing. 213.109.230.96 (talk) 13:59, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

Improving citations within the article
Hey all, I've been reading through this article and saw that a lot of the citations used are not fully applicable to what they are intending to describe. For instance, reference #1 helps back up the claim that short sleep can lead to weight gain; however, the link between chronic sleep disorders and general sleep deprivation seems like a slight stretch. I just want to try and increase the validity of the citations used and am wondering if this is a necessary endeavor or if anyone would like to help refurbish this article? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ithaker (talk • contribs) 22:09, 19 September 2019 (UTC)

UCF WikiProject
Hello! I am a member of UCF Wiki elective. I’ll be mainly refining uses and causes sections.

For uses section, I plan to check the references and improve the overall flow and style of the section as recommended by Natashakoenig. I also saw that Arathun mentioned positive effect of sleep dep so will review his link.

For causes section, I plan to check the references and include more up to date articles or topics if possible. I will also compare with insomnia page to see if there are any discrepancies or unnecessary redundancies. Hy097231 (talk) 05:43, 7 January 2021 (UTC)

I decided to make some not-so-minor changes to this page. I've added definition section to minimize any confusion regarding some terminologies esp with the term "insomnia." I've also updated the treatment section quite a bit and deleted some unnecessary and not supported sentences to avoid any misunderstanding. Sleep deprivation is a diagnosis of illness, not just a symptom of insomnia. I hope to promote a better understanding of this condition among the public and importance of not undermining this condition. I stressed the health hygiene a bit more. I'm also adding evaluation section just to go over some basic methods used to diagnose sleep deprivation primarily to show that it is a condition that can be diagnosed and treated. I'll continue to revise the general style and flow as well as references. Hy097231 (talk) 20:34, 14 January 2021 (UTC)

will be adding more about mood, quality of life, cardiovascular effects, immunosuppression, and etc in physio changes section Hy097231 (talk) 20:43, 14 January 2021 (UTC)

UCF COM Peer Review
Great work on your edits! So well done

Lead
 * Leads introductory sentences are excellent and clear/clarify that the condition is a true disease process
 * Great addition of paragraph clarifying acute vs chronic sleep deprivation vs insomnia, very necessary and helps set the stage for what we will be reading. Also very well written and concise
 * flow of intro is great, has a really good introduction to the remainder of the article and sets reader expectation appropriately with great coverage of major topics

Content (on sections author specifically added) The 2 changes I would consider are:
 * Effects and Consequences: addition of intro is very helpful, really love the image, perhaps edit second sentence to "The degree of changes a person experiences depends on the individual and his or her circadian factors" (I think it sounds better to make singular)
 * Mood: This is a really interesting section that is obviously really clinically and personally relevant. The depression paragraph is great and well written.
 * 1) I think some of the language is a bit too colloquial, perhaps consider changing "pulling an all-nighter" to "staying up all night" and changing second person to third person language,
 * 2) Clarify the definitions of chronotype, morningness, and eveningness concepts a bit more, I found this confusing and had to re-read it

Minor Grammar/Clarification Edits:
 * Split into driving ability and sleep transition was really smart
 * Cardiovascular Morbidity: Great section, well written and definitely hits the important points with really great, informative, concise content
 * 1) "The AHA...the organization recommends healthy sleep habits"
 * 2) "In a study that followed...the subjects who self-reported"
 * 3) "In a study that followed over 160,000..." delete over 18 years (extraneous information)
 * 4) "They presented with" (delete to)
 * 5) "The UK Biobank..." delete "at start" change "subjects that slept" to "subjects who slept"

Minor grammar edits:
 * Immunosuppression: This is super interesting, I had no idea these associations existed...the immunization piece is particularly cool! Really well conveyed and no extraneous information
 * 1) Myriads should be singular
 * 2) "While it is not clearly understood...essential to provide sufficient...and it allows inflammation to take place"
 * 3) "When vaccines expose the body...the body initates an immune response"
 * 4) "People who are sleep deprived in general...do not provide their bodies"

Minor Grammar/Clarification Edits:
 * T2DM: This information is really important and well conveyed
 * 1) "Researchers suspect that sleep...oxidative stress, which subsequently influences"

Minor Grammar/Clarification Edits:
 * Weight Gain: After reading this section, I would move it ahead of T2DM. You clarify definitions of ghrelin and leptin in this paragraph, and because T2DM is often a consequence of uncontrolled obesity over time I think it makes more sense
 * 1) "Sleep deprivation increases the level of ghrelin" (Delete the second level after hunger hormone)
 * 2) "Sleep loss is also associated with...cortisol levels, which are"
 * 3) "People who do not get sufficient sleep..."

Minor Grammar/Clarification Edits:
 * Assessment: Excellent, well-written, and concise section that is helpful to anyone who would be reading this section. The Actigraphy is interesting and helpful!
 * 1) "Sleep diaries are useful...providing detailed information" (delete a)

Minor Grammar/Clarification Edits:
 * Management: Great, relevant info conveyed in a very concise and organized way
 * 1) "The key is to implement healthier sleep habits" (make plural)

'''Tone and Balance '''* Content is all neutrally conveyed in an appropriate manner, no bias or heavy-handed claims, no persuasion all evidence based and clear
 * The only tone change I would make is as I mentioned above in the mood section where I felt it was a little bit too casual

'''Sources and References '''* All new content backed up by reliable sources
 * Most sources are secondary. For the most part, only primary when directly pertain to an important study
 * Most references are up to date, only a few are in late 90's
 * All links I checked worked (~50%)

'''Organization '''* As I mentioned above, the only change I would make to the organization of the article is moving weight gain above T2DM
 * really well-written, very concise and easy to read and follow for anyone with any level of background in the subject
 * I really like how the article is divided into very specific, clear, and short sub-sections. It is really easy to follow and find specific, relevant information

Images and Media: I Can't tell who uploaded this image but it is really great ad a good, relevant summary of important points

Overall Impressions:
 * The content added has absolutely improved the overall quality of the article. It is more complete, appropriately thorough, and informative. Also made some very important clarifications and outlined really important complications. I also really appreciate the addition of the Wikihealth suggested sections for diseases, it is important for anyone reading the article, patient or clinician, to be able to see assessment and management.
 * Strengths: concise, wording is really understandable and clear regardless of reader's background, very effective additions ESPECIALLY assessment and management sections
 * See above for suggested improvements
 * Overall really great work, definitely improved the article!

Rdwing08 (talk) 08:15, 28 January 2021 (UTC)


 * Thanks a lot ! I have made some changes to reflect your suggestions. Hy097231 (talk) 04:22, 29 January 2021 (UTC)

16 hours,
So on a few links, I've seen Total sleep deprivation and Acute sleep deprivation start after 16 hours. Though mostly the minimum limit for these considerations are at 24 hour. Which I agree with. I'd like to ask if there has been any reprimands, and such to those claims. FrankPalancio98 (talk) 03:41, 18 July 2021 (UTC)

I'm sorry, This doesn't suffice. I've only seen New Jersey's state laws on determination. Is there a particularly Reliable Article that acknowledges the 16 hour mark. And refutes it? FrankPalancio98 (talk) 12:57, 18 July 2021 (UTC)

Shall I add the fact that ASD/TSD start after 16 hours? FrankPalancio98 (talk) 18:30, 19 July 2021 (UTC)

Graveyard shifts and sleep deprivation
Does anyone have any research sources or ideas on this topic. I'm interested in it, but there's not a lot of information on whether graveyard shifts mess up your health and sleep deprivation. Thanks. Mr Robot 2020 (talk) 21:48, 10 September 2021 (UTC)

a single study involving 17 participants over 20 years ago is not meaningful data
1st and 2nd paragraphs under effects, this should be removed 2600:1005:B014:C6A:C91A:3F56:9FF7:977F (talk) 06:51, 6 May 2022 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Introduction to Media Culture -BN
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Wiki Education assignment: The Free Internet
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Driving ability math
The section on 'Driving Ability' says that 80,000 people in the US fall asleep at the wheel PER DAY, and that sleep deprivation causes 250,000 accidents PER YEAR (emphasis is mine). That math is just silly. If 80k people are falling asleep at the wheel DAILY, and there are only 250k accidents per year from it - then you would have to fall asleep at the wheel almost 120 times before expecting to have an accident. I'm guessing that the per day / per year numbers are messed up somehow. I checked the reference pdf, and sure enough that's what it says, but those numbers just dont make sense. Thoughts? Nothingofwater (talk) 23:56, 29 January 2024 (UTC)


 * Without reading the source myself and seeing exactly how they define "falling asleep at the wheel", it is likely that they count nodding off or a temporary lapse of wakefulness as "falling asleep". This would make sense because for all intents and purposes it is falling asleep at the wheel, and it would make sense that the vast majority of these incidents do not result in an accident. Kimen8 (talk) 00:21, 30 January 2024 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Writing 10 - Both Classes
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