Symptoms of sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation is a very common disorder and seems to be at epidemic proportions at the moment. Usually caused by insomnia, sleep deprivation can also happen when busy people intentionally cut into their sleep time, trying to fit more into their day.
While this may seem like a good idea on the surface, denying yourself sufficient sleep will lower your productivity to the extent that you will not end up achieving much more. Add to this the unpleasant symptoms of sleep deprivation and you have an untenable situation.
Being deprived of sleep can have unpleasant and even dangerous consequences. You may feel more emotional, experience more stress and have difficulty remembering things. Your coordination will suffer and so will your health. Lack of sleep can slow your immune system, leaving you open to threat of disease. You may even become a danger to yourself or others on the road. Sleep deprivation does nothing for your driving skills!
Sleep deprivation and depression
One of the more unpleasant symptoms of sleep deprivation is depression. Depression and insomnia feed off each other, so you’ll need to get help for insomnia before the depression will ease. You may need to see a doctor for this.
If you’re one of the increasing number of people suffering with insomnia, being deprived of sleep is a daily reality. This may due to world unrest, financial turmoil in world markets and people simply feeling they have no control over their circumstances. This is all on top of the usual causes of insomnia. So what can we do about it?
If you’ve been experiencing insomnia for any length of time, you’ve probably explored the usual causes, either medical or environmental and done your best to make sure your sleep hygiene is correct. If you’ve tried everything and you are still having problems either getting to sleep or staying asleep, stress is most probably the root cause of your insomnia.
It’s vital to get rid of stress, however sleep deprivation can increase stress levels, leading to a vicious cycle. So how can we reduce the stress in out lives? Here’s a few suggestions.
If your stress is due to worry or anxiety about your situation, first do everything possible to solve the problem yourself. Try talking to friends and family. Sometimes it’s good to get a new perspective on a problem. If your stress is more general or you’re the “worrying” kind, sometimes simply deciding not to become stressed can work wonders. Have other coping mechanisms such as EFT, yoga deep breathing or other relaxation tricks handy.
If nothing works, cognitive behavioral therapy can help alleviate all types of stress and anxiety by changing the way you think. As you can imagine this will take some time. The Linden Method can start working in hours and the effects are permanent. Watch the video below on our stop anxiety page to rid yourself of stress and consequent sleep deprivation.
