How does sleep loss affect us?

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Effects of Sleep Loss.
Most body functions depend on sleep to effectively perform when one is awake. It is during sleep that the body reserves get replenished. After a good night sleep, one feels more energetic, the mind gets sharper, long-term memories get stored, and one feels ready to carry out activities for the day. This paper analyses the need for one to have enough sleep as sleep loss is an extremely detrimental condition that negatively affects our cognitive functions.
Sleep loss severely affects one’s mental processes. A sleep-deprived brain is not as alert as a well-rested brain. In most cases, the body feels sluggish after a sleepless night. The response of the brain neurons is slowed down when one does not get enough sleep. Also, the sleep-deprived individuals have more rapid mood changes. In this case, they are more irritable and grumpier. For instances of acute sleep loss, the patients can display a complete lack of emotion and are likely to make poor decisions.
Furthermore, the brain produces hormones necessary for emotional perception, growth, and building one’s appetite during sleep. The prefrontal cortex associated with visual perception and memory gets overloaded with stress chemicals excreted when one does not get enough sleep. Lastly, most sleep-deprived people lack concentration. As observed in most countries, most accidents on the road and in work get caused by sleep-deprived individuals.
In summary, sleep deprivation causes physical and mental abnormalities that affect not only the sleep-deprived individual but also the society at large.

Sleep loss can negatively impact one’s cognitive functions leading to one making unwise decisions, lose appetite and put their safety and that of people around them at risk. The hazardous nature of sleep loss thus calls for immediate treatment and therapy.