Running head: THE EFFECTS OF SLEEP

The Effects of Sleep: A Review of Literature

Lucero L. Rojas Gallegos
University of Texas at El Paso
English 1312
[Date]

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Abstract

Though sleep just like other thing has changed throughout the years it still plays a pivotal role in
todays world. Sleep is something that in today society has become of little value to humans,
although it is something that is deemed important to nature, since it is an evolutionary process
that has survived and been passed on from generation to generation and which is share by many
animals and organism throughout the world. Although sleep is share by many organism is does
differ form organism to organism, therefore what sleep as it relates to humans will examined,
along with why sleep evolved as it relates to an evolutionary context. The opposite will also be
reviewed, what happens when sleep is not obtained, why would any individual consider to go
against nature by not sleeping, and how has it been possible to evade natures will by maintain
consciousness for more hours than what we were meant to.

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The Effects of Sleep: A Review of Literature

Even before the dawn of the human existence, sleep has played an important role in
evolution. The fact that the need to sleep, is among one of things that humans share with other
mammals, reptiles, and animals proves this. Although how much sleep is needed and how sleep
is obtained varies from organism to organism sleep is both an important and pivotal part of life.
As new scientific discoveries and technologies have been made available, scientist and
researchers have able to learn more about sleep in the last half century. Although, just as there
are two different sides of the same coin, so has advances in technology, social changes, and other
factors had both a positive and negative influence on the way that people sleep and the way that
people think about sleep.
As time goes by, many changes occur in every aspect of life: the terrain of Earth
changes, organisms learn to adapt in order to survive, new knowledge is gain each day, cultures
and views are changed, and an infinite number changes occur with each day that passes by. This
is especially true for sleep as it relates to humans. Although, time has gone by the way humans
sleep has gone through many changes, the necessity to sleep has remained constant even to
todays modern sleep deprived society. In order to keep up with the demands of the ever-growing
fast-paced society in which they live people are now starting to cut to down the number of hours
that they sleep each night. Nevertheless, there has not yet been discovered something that can
replace sleep, and the hours of sleep that get cut bring consequence and are eventually repaid.
Thereby, proving that sleep is both crucial and unavoidable, the process of sleep will by
examined through the following questions:
1. What is sleep, and what induces sleep?
2. What is the purpose of sleep?

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3. What is sleep deprivation defined as, and what are some of its short and long term
effects?
4. What factors in todays (U.S.) society might help promote or discourage sleep
deprivation.
These questions will narrow the focus of this review by studying the physiological processes that
induce sleep, why sleep evolved as seen from an evolutionary context, what happens when sleep
is not obtained, and why would humans go against nature by not sleeping.
What is sleep, and what induces sleep?
In Meyers Psychology textbook sleep is defined as a type of state of consciousness,
relating it to the awareness of oneself and ones surrounding. The National Institute of Health
(NIH) describes sleep as a basic human need. Regardless of the many definitions that have been
used to defined sleep, one of the things that they all concur on is that sleep is as crucial as food
and water. Research in animals has shown that not sleeping can lead to death. In an experiment
conducted in the 1980 rats were kept awake indefinitely, after five days of being awake they start
to die (Stahl, 2008). Unlike the rats, though, humans undergo micro sleep which are brief
moments of sleep that occur when individual is normally awake (NIH, 2012). Micro sleep
usually last for only a couple of seconds, usually goes unaware by the individual, and is
involuntary, meaning that micro sleep occurs with out ones control.
Sleep is composed of four stages: NREM-1 (non-REM), NREM-2, NREM-3, and REM
(rapid eye movement), which repeat about every ninety minutes. During the night the human
body goes through approximately through four to five of these cycles. Starting from NREM-1
going to NREM-2 to NREM-3 an individual proceeds from a light sleep to a more profound
sleep after each stage, with NREM-3 being deep sleep. When entering into REM an individual

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ascends from deep sleep to light sleep, and this is when dreams occur (Meyer, 2013). As night
proceeds humans spend less time in deep sleep (NREM-3) and more time in REM sleep, and as
individuals grow older the amount spent in deep sleep also decreases (Meyer, 2013).
Sleep is regulated two processes called the Two-Process Model of Sleep Regulation
which involves homeostatic sleep drive and the circadian system (Hershner, S. D., & Chervin, R.
D. , 2014). The homeostatic sleep drive process uses the levels of adenosine to regulate sleep. In
this process the moment an individual wakes up adenosine starts to build up and continues to
accumulate the more one stays awake. The adenosine compound is used to signal the body to
shift toward sleep; once the individual is asleep the body starts to break down the adenosine,
lowering the adenosine levels in the body (NIH, 2012).
The circadian rhythm, the second process that regulates sleep, is an internal biological
clock that is usually synchronized with the earths rotation (Schulz, P., & Steimer, T., 2009). The
circadian rhythm has to be regularly reset, this usually happens every twenty-four hours with the
presence of light (Schulz & Steimer, 2009). When receptors in the eyes receive light, certain
light-sensitive retinal proteins are released. These protein trigger signals that control the
suprachiasmatic nucleus (SNC), the SNC then cause the pineal gland to either increase (in the
morning) or decrease (in the evening) the melatonin levels, a sleep-inducing hormone (Meyer,
2013). Another hormone that is secreted as the sun rises is cortisol, which the body uses to wake
up.
What is the purpose of sleep?
Though no exact reason to why humans or even animals sleep has been found, many
theories have been formulated to answer this question based on scientific evidence and facts.
During sleep an individual lays unconscious for several hours, therefore, becoming defenseless

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and vulnerable to attack. Although at first glance this might seem to be disadvantageous in an
evolutionary context this process actually evolved and was passed on because it was deemed
advantageous to nature. In nature only traits that favorable to the survival of a species are passed
on. Matthew Walker the director of Sleep and Neuroimaging Lab from the University of
California, Berkeley, explained that the advantages of sleep must have therefore outweighed the
advantages of not sleeping to be passed on (Stahl, 2008).
To be protected from predators is one of the theories that try to explain why sleep
evolved. During the time when humans were hunters and gatherers the individuals who stayed in
caves to hide themselves tended to have a higher chance of survival that those who would roam
around during the night, since it is harder to see and some dangerous animals only appear at
night (Meyer, 2013). Therefore, sleep would be advantageous to them since it would have forced
them to find a safe place to rest during the night keeping them out of harms way. Furthermore,
there seems to be a correlation between an animals ability to hide and the number hours they
sleep. As animals ability to hide decreases the number of hours that they sleep also decreases
(Meyer, 2013).
Another theory that explains the development of sleep is the recuperation of the body.
During sleep the body uses this time to both repair damage neuron, tissues, muscles, cell, and
heart and blood vessels, and destroy or weaken neurons that are not used. For example, during
the day the body burns a lot of calories, which create free radical that, are toxic to neurons, but
during sleep the body repairs those neurons that were damaged during the day (Meyer, 2013).
This is why at the end of the day people tend to feel tired and exhausted, and after a good night
sleep people feel refresh.

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As the previous theory explains, the brain is repair during sleep, as a result new neural
pathways are constantly being created during sleep (NIH, 2012). Therefore, sleep does not only
enhance learning but also consolidate memories; this is the reason why students are discouraged
to stay up all night studying before an exam (Stahl, 2008). It doesnt matter how much hours one
spends studying without sleep the new information will not make a difference in our cognitive
performance.
Lastly, during sleep many hormones that control growth are secreted. An example is the
pituitary gland, which releases a hormone that is crucial for the development of muscle
development during sleep (Meyer, 2013). This is also explains why babies and little children
sleep more than adults, and why as individuals grow older they tend to sleep less.

Figure 1: Demonstrates that sleep loss only keeps accumulating and there is no way to escape it,
sleep debt can only go away by being repaid. Retrieved from http://www.end-your-sleepdeprivation.com/sleep-debt.html.

What is sleep deprivation defined as, and what are some of its short and long term effects?
Sleep deprivation is defined as not getting the sufficient amount of sleep that the body
needs. Sleep deprivation can therefore refer to both losing only a couple of hours of sleep each
night (partial sleep deprivation) to having no sleep at all (total sleep deprivation), though both are
detrimental to the body. Sleep is extremely crucial and important for an individuals health and

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well being therefore not sleeping can be extremely harmful. Although the amount of sleep
needed differs from individual to individual the average amount of sleep that is recommended for
an adult is between 7-10 hours of sleep each night. Each hour of sleep that gets lost every day
gets accumulated into what is called sleep debt until it paid off by the body (see Figure 1). Sleep
deprivation has both immediate (short) and long term effects and can lead to other type of
consequences.
The most common and immediate effect of sleep deprivation is drowsiness and short
attention spans; although getting a nap is very helpful it is not recommended to nap for more
than hundred minutes. Sleep deprivation also causes mood swings, decrease an individuals
performance, and make an individual feel more hunger than usually. This is due to the fact that
sleep deprivation increases the ghrelin (the hunger arousing hormone) level and decreases leptin
(the hunger suppressing hormone) level in the body (Meyer, 2013). This causes an individual not
only to eat more after being sleep deprived but also to eat food higher in carbohydrates. Sleep
deprivation also causes an increase in cortisol a stress hormone that stimulates the body to
produce fat (Meyer, 2013).
The long- term effects of sleep deprivation include obesity, depression, and increased
risk to develop health problems like heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, stroke,
and diabetes. After a night of sleep deprivation people might often feel boost of energy during
the day and feel more energetic throughout the day that when they get sufficient sleep, this is
normal and quite deceiving. The energy boost are caused due to the fact people tend to have
certain times during the day where their energy rises and therefore after a night of sleep
deprivation the body still tries to follow its usual routine. These energy boost are deceiving

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because people who are sleep deprived tend to think that they are performing better than others
when performing at the same level or lower than other.
Sleep deprivation can also lead to other effects that can have dangerous and deadly
outcomes. For example, people who are sleep deprived think that they can function properly
even when they are really impaired. This has lead to many car accidents over the years, since
sleep deprivation can at times be worser than drunk driving (Hersher & Chervin, 2014). Other
accidents in which sleep deprivation has played a major rule have been the Exxon Valdez oil
spill, Chernobyl, the Three Mile Island disaster, and the 2003 Staten Island ferry crash (Stahl,
2008).
What factors in todays (U.S.) society might help promote or discourage sleep deprivation?
In the U.S. most of the sleep deprived people are workers who have day-shifts, workers
with long shifts (like doctors and nurses), and young adults. There are many factors that
contribute to sleep deprivation, but there are also many programs and resources that are aimed to
decrease sleep deprivation.
One of the factors that have increased sleep deprivation has been caffeine, energy drinks,
and drugs that have been developed to increase a persons ability to stay awake. In the last
couple of years these substance have become very popular among young adults. In the survey
done among individuals between 18-24 years of age 34% of the population consumed this
substances and 67% of these individuals reported using them to stay awake (Hersher & Chervin,
2014).
Another important factor in the increase of sleep deprivation has been the increase of
technology. Thanks to the invention of the light bulb people are not tied down to the sunrise and
sunset cycles anymore; now people can continue working throughout the night. The light that is

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also provided by cellphones, TVs, iPads, laptops, and other electronic devices can also disrupt
the circadian rhythm by suppressing the melatonin levels preventing a person from feeling
sleepy. Social media has also played an important role in sleep deprivation, since people often
stay awake till late checking their status and messages in sites like Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler,
and Snapshot.
Two other very important factors that have contributed to sleep deprivation are school
(college to be more exact) and work. In the last few years the importance of having a college
degree has sky rocketed along with the tuition cost. Therefore, during college students tend to be
the most efficacious as possible, willing to sacrifice a couple of hours or a night of sleep every so
often (Hersher & Chervin, 2014).
A survey was conducted on 42 students at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) on
the topic of sleep deprivation (Rojas, 2014). When asked if they felt they were sleep deprived
66% responded yes relatively closed compared to the results in the survey conducted by Hersher
& Chervin in which 70% college students responded yes to the same question. In Hersher &
Chervin survey 50% of college students reported daytime sleepiness, as opposed to the 70% who
reported daytime sleepiness in the survey conducted by Rojas in UTEP. The last question had
quite a large difference, but in the survey conducted in UTEP the 70% who reported daytime
sleepiness was quite closer to the 66% who consider themselves sleep deprived, since daytime
sleepiness is a sign of sleep deprivation this seems to be quite accurate. Although it has to be
noted that the population size of the survey was quite small and more data should be collected.
There quite a few programs that help reduce sleep deprivation, its effects, and its
consequence. One of these is public awareness of sleep deprivation by health organizations, like
the National Institute of Health who provide the public with free information through the

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internet, and by conducting clinical trials to keep investigating the effects of sleep and sleep
deprivation. Other programs that are available are clinics that focus specifically on sleep, and
other non-profit groups.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this review has analyzed what sleep is, why sleep is important, what
happens when sleep is not obtained, and the factors that contribute to sleep deprivation. As
technology has advanced the hours of sleep that are obtained on average by individuals has
decreased especially among the young adults. Although the increasing modernization and the
constant changing of society now promote less hours of sleep, sleeping less than what is
required comes with consequences. Sleep deprivation is something that only humans struggle
with and something that up to till recently became possible. Although the effects of sleep
deprivation are already know, could there be other effect that are still not yet seen? Effects
that will not been seen in this generation but in future generations? There are still many
question on sleep and sleep deprivation that are still left unanswered and other that are yet
not asked, but as knowledge continues to increase a better understanding of sleep is also
obtained.

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Hershner, S. D., & Chervin, R. D. (2014). Causes and consequences of sleepiness among college
students. Nature & Science Of Sleep, 673-84. doi:10.2147/NSS.S62907
Meyer, David G.(2013). Psychology (10th ed.) New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
Rojas Gallegos, Lucero L. (2014). Sleep Deprivation. [Survey] SurveyMonkey. Retrieved from
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XKSVXDL.
Schulz, P., & Steimer, T. (2009). Neurobiology of Circadian Systems. CNS Drugs, 3-13.
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