It seems that with every day that goes by, more and more Americans are becoming more and more sleep-deprived. Sleep deprivation is primarily an invention of modern capitalistic societies. Back when we were hunter-gatherers or subsistence farmers, we went to bed shortly after it got dark and woke up whenever our body was ready. Sleep deprivation was rare, something that only occurred under extreme circumstances.

Today in modern society, sleep deprivation has practically become baked into the structure of society itself. We now have rigid work schedules and alarm clocks to pry us awake. Children are having more and more crammed into their already busy schedules in the name of capitalism (they must have straight A’s and an impressive list of extra-curricular activities in order to get into the best college, which will allow them to get ahead in the capitalism game). More and more adults are also foregoing sleep in order to get ahead. “In our world, sleep has been seen as the enemy of capitalism,” says Russel Sanna, PhD, former executive director of the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School. “If you’re not working, you’re not generating income.” (Weinhouse, 2015)

Adding to the problem is the fact that we now have artificial light at the flip of a switch and dozens of electronic devices to keep us busy. These not only interfere with our body’s sleep cycle but make it tempting to put off going to sleep because we’re preoccupied with a movie or on line chat room – which wouldn’t be so bad if we didn’t have that pesky alarm clock and inflexible schedule in the morning. As a result, “our entire nation has the potential for impaired performance,” says Mark Rosekind, PhD, a sleep expert and National Transportation Safety Board member. (ibid)

The Effects of Sleep Deprivation

The body reacts to sleep deprivation just like it does other forms of physical or mental stress – by releasing stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. (Schneider & Hirschman, 2006) This added stress alone can have ripple effects throughout the body, since excess stress is linked to everything from decreased immune functioning and health problems to impaired brain functioning and, in severe cases, brain damage.

In one scary study released in March 2014, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania concluded that just 3 consecutive nights of four to five hours of sleep could potentially lead to irreversible brain cell damage. (Weinhouse, 2015) It’s important not to read too much into any one particular study, especially in light of the fact that other research suggests humans can recover from isolated bouts of severely inadequate sleep with no apparent lasting effects. (Jacobs, 1998) But it does show cause for concern for those of us who are continually sleep-deprived on an ongoing basis.

The Dangers of Sleep Deprivation

Sleep deprivation doesn’t just impair functioning, it can be downright dangerous. Studies of sleep-deprived rats show that parts of their brain essentially go to sleep while they seem wide awake. So some parts of their brain are offline even as other parts remain active. This makes the rats more prone to mistakes during slightly difficult tasks. When neurons in parts of their motor cortex fell silent, they struggled. “If the finding applies to people,” says Tina Hesman Saey, “it could mean that lost sleep is even more dangerous than previously believed, leading to slips of the tongue, driving mistakes, errors of judgment or other problems.” (Hesman-Saey, 5-21-2011)

All evidence shows the same is true in humans. For example, a 2003 study done at Henry Ford Hospital found that losing 2 hours of sleep in one night (getting 6 instead of 8, for example) had an effect on performance equivalent to drinking 2 or 3 beers. (Weinhouse, 2015)

 Statistics on Sleep Deprivation

Here are some other things that have been tied to a lack of sleep:

• The National Department of Transportation estimates that drowsy driving is responsible for 1,550 fatalities and 40,000 nonfatal injuries every year in the S. (Weinhouse, 2015)

• A recent study found people with sleep apnea are 7-times more likely to get into a car accident, since it results in daytime grogginess. (Jacobs, 1998)

• The NTSB estimates that fatigue contributes to as many as a quarter of all transportation accidents whether car, truck, bus, train or plane. (Weinhouse, 2015)

• Sleep deprivation is linked to lost work productivity, costing the S. economy as much as $63 billion in lost productivity each year. For example, research has found a correlation between lack of sleep and the amount of time people spent logged onto entertainment sites at work. (ibid)

Accidents Caused by Lack of Sleep

Lack of sleep directly translates into more accidents, whether at home, at work, or on the road. Christopher Barnes, Ph.D., an assistant professor of management at the University of Washington and an expert on workplace sleep fatigue, says that “A study of how workers function the day after daylight saving time, when they’ve lost an average of 40 minutes of sleep because of the time change, had surprise results. That amount of lost sleep was tied to a spike in workplace injuries. (Weinhouse, 2015)

Arianna Huffington of Huffington Post fame has become a self-proclaimed “sleep evangelist” ever since she fainted in her office and hit her head on a desk. The accident broke her cheekbone and required 5 stitches around the eye – an accident she attributed to lack of sleep. (ibid) In other examples, the near meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear facility in 1979 occurred at 4:00 A.M. and involved a crew that had just changed to graveyard shift. Chernobyl and the Exxon Valdez spill are also partly attributable to shift work. (Jacobs, 1998, p. 194) Suffice it to say that lack of sleep can have serious effects on our world.