Statement of Intentions
Oftentimes, very tasking jobs have always placed upon us the burden to rob ourselves of sleep. This has been the situation with me like every night I have to work until very late hours- most times I would have to sleep well after midnight! My job is so tasking that it has always been presenting deadlines upon deadlines! And I would stay awake to late hours of the night to complete the tasks! Several times, I have carefully planned and managed my time; but no matter how much I planned or managed the times, there is always a situation that would drive me into late sleep again! The next morning, I would wake up looking pale, dull, tired, and confused in a way. To keep myself looking fresh and energetic, I would have to depend on pills. Ordinarily, I can not sleep during the day to supplement a sleep-deprived night without taking pills. Of course, these afternoons when I have to take a nap are rare since my work is always demanding at least 16 – 18 hrs daily! There will be 6 or 8 hrs left out of the 24 hrs for me. In the meager time that would be left for me in a day, I would have to clean up, go round town, read a paper, watch the news, call a friend, say prayers, and so on. The activities collectively would take a few hours. In the end, I would have less than 6 hrs of sleep! This paper builds upon my personal experience of having a lot of sleep depravity and how this has been supported by the usage of medication. Basically, I use pills to best reduce the time it takes to lose sleep after very stressful days when sleep would not just want to come. It has become necessary to pattern sleep to meet the several demands of life- which is best achieved with the use of pills. There are however minor side-effects that are known of usage of pills or medication to induce sleep, but these are nothing really to worry about.
Introduction
A majority of the population of America, like me, suffers from inadequate sleep. This is often caused by the consistent demanding functionalities which one is always caught up in the hustling and the bustling of life. Without a degree in medicine, anyone – even a child can clearly tell how much sleep is important to the body. At least, it is a common fact that the body gets refreshed after a sound sleep.
Before now, it was supposed that sleep was passive- only presently has this impression been reconsidered as it is now realized that during sleep, the brain of an individual is in a continual state of activity. Medicine has ascertained that sleep is essential for the restoration of the immunity of body systems and makes it possible for the body to fight against diseases and as well tolerate sicknesses. Literary speaking then, the absence of sleep in an individual affects the immunity of the systems, and the brain in particular (Smaldone et. al 9). This paper will consider the need for sleep and the need to use pills when sleep would not come naturally at the desired time.
General Notion on Sleep
Severe absence of sleep has been associated with an increment in cytokine-molecules which are responsible for controlling responses to immunity. For many, there are varying reasons why they deprive themselves of sleep. Considering a student, for example, the primary reason for sleep depravity is certainly schoolwork which oftentimes makes a student keep late hour to bed. Different Individuals need different time limits for sleep. This is more true as an individual grows- the number of hours for sleep keeps changing, but on average, sound sleep for an individual should last for about seven to nine hours; children and teens need more our of sleep than the nine-hour since their cells are in a more rapid developmental process.
Very badly, there is the general awareness for the need for sound sleep and the need for having it at a consistent time. But only very few people are willing to be committed to going to bed at the same time every day, the next day, the day after next and so on. Going to bed every day at a defined period is a commitment that we all need to train ourselves for.
Reasons Why We Rob Ourselves of Sleep at the Appropriate Times
In the US, several people suffer from inadequate sleep- several persons will readily confess that sound sleep is the least of their priorities! The reason for this according to Holman (10) is that society believes that the fewer hours one has, the more the individual gets things done, gets more achievements, becomes more productive, and acquires more honors. So often, instead of a parent insisting on a child to go to bed at a set time, most parents will insist that a child should keep awake reading so that such a child would make good grades at school. At the workplace, there is no provision for the worker to take an hour off for a nap. There is the depravity of sleep everywhere!
Consequently, the majority of the United State’s citizenry is endangered in terms of inappropriate maintenance of psychological and physical health. The sleep-deprived American is nearly only left with the choice of using of medication to afford sleep. Nearly always, depriving the self of sleep is done with an effort (as the body would always fight against sleepless) and afterward, the sleep-derived individual becomes weak, pale, and confused or tends to be very forgetful (Griffith 124). It has always been the matter with me as well each time I so deprived myself of sleep.
From studies, adequate sleep for everybody is necessary. Epstein (761) suggested a number of vital steps which should be taken for ensuring adequate and sound sleep.
From these studies and from personal experiences of self deprived sleep, I am convinced that sound sleep is very important for every individual- and if it can not be realized naturally, it should be achieved through the use of pills or medication (as would be prescribed by a medical practitioner).
Importance of Sleep to Humans
Studies to determine the importance of sleep to humans were carried out on rats and the studies reviewed the importance of sleep to survival. The rats where grouped into two; a group was deprived sleep for nearly three weeks. And the other group was granted full sleep. The sleep-deprived group lived for only a period of approximately three weeks and developed abnormality in body temperature as well as had sore paws and tails. The development of the sores was certainly as a result of the rats’ immune systems’ impairment.
In human beings, there is the demonstration that the brains metabolism reduces to a great extent after it has been sustained to wakefulness (Griffith 798). Sleep has also been associated with the proper functioning of the nerve system as well as enhancing the receptivity of memory (Arlene 122). There has been a link between depravity of sleep in a continual conduct with the development of hallucination as well as mood-swings.
Pills and Sleep
According to studies, there are several pills and medications that are very effective for usage in inducing sleep when one has difficulties with it. There is however the linkage between medications induced sleeps and health complications including changes in the body chemistry (Dene and Monique 1901). Sleep depravity results into inflammation and alters blood-chemistry. This amounts to emerges of several diseases such as affecting the heart, creating neurological conditions, as well as resulting into diabetes. Several times, when these natural therapies to sleep induction fall, it is optional to fall back to the use of pill for sleep induction. Several sleep aiding pills have been described as been ‘sedative-hypnotic’. This infers specified medication for inducing and/or maintaining sleep.
The Side Effects of Sleeping Pills
As it is the case with medication generally, pills used for the induction of sleep are with side effects [refer to Appendix A] (Carole 1393). The side effects are not assumable until one tries the pills. Otherwise, it is the function of a physician to suggest pills for an individual for inducing sleep as pills taken at will are capable of making one to have less regular breath which could be harmful to persons with lung challenges [including COPD and asthma] (Epstein 673).
A number of common side-effects of sleep-pills have been listed to including: burning or tingling in the hands, arms, feet, or legs; changes in appetite; constipation Diarrhea; difficulty keeping balance; dizziness; drowsiness; dry mouth or throat; gas; headache; heartburn; stomach pain or tenderness; uncontrollable shaking of a part of the body; unusual dreams; weakness. Lack of enough hours of sleep therefore means that we compromise the level of mental ability; it is not possible to work, learn or communicate effectively as we would be capable without proper sleep. Epstein (471) believes that lack of sleep is the main cause of both mental and physical breakdown. Sleeplessness is the root cause of serious health conditions such as cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, high blood sugars, high blood pressure, obesity and premature death.
Lack of sleep day after day builds up when the body’s sleep-debt becomes highly accumulated and the individual become more careless and often suffer injuries. Understanding the effects of sleep indebtedness and how to best manage sleep indebtedness can reduce the carelessness and injuries to self and others. Because our daily activities are so dynamic and too our sleep patterns are not often stable. Sleeping medications help ensure that time is not wasted falling asleep and staying asleep and thus helps the person to remain more alert the next day than they would have been without the medication. My sleep patterns are often disturbed.
Conclusion
Sleep pills are very helpful in the induction of sleep. However, it is necessary to consider the implication of sleep pills in other to prevent having health complications. Having sleepless nights have several consequences as well. Where sleep inducing pills are quite harmful to the body is when the have been abused or when the individual gets addicted to them so that it becomes impossible for the individual to sleep without using pills. Persons who use pills for inducing sleep should do in accordance with medical prescription. I advocate for medical consultancy in order to make the most from pills.
Works Cited
Arlene, Judy Honig, and Mary W. Bryne.Sleepless in America: inadequate sleep and relationships to health and well-being of our nation’s children. New York: Pediatrics, 2007. Print.
Carole, Marcus. Pediatric sleep medicine comes into its own. NEW York: Pediatrics, 2004. Print.
Dene, Simpson, and Monique P. Curran.Ramelteon: a review of its use in insomnia. New York: Drugs, 2008. Print.
Epstein, Lawrence. Improving Sleep. Oakland: Highlanders, 2009. Print.
Griffith, Katie. Sleep in tough times: economy takes its toll: results of the national sleep foundation 2009 sleep in America [TM] poll. New York: Sleep Review, 2009. Print.
Holman, FranKlin. Sleep still in need of positive publicity. London: 2008. Print.
Laurence Behrens and Leonard Rosen. 11th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2008. Print.
Smaldone, Arlene, et. al. Sleepless in America: Inadequate Sleep and Relationship to Health and Well-Being of Our Nation’s Children. New York: Pediatrics, 2007. Print.
Appendix A
The following medications are used mainly to help you fall asleep.
Sleeping pills that help you stay asleep
The following prescription medications are used to help you get to sleep and stay asleep.