Can You Die From Lack of Sleep?
Can You Die From Lack of Sleep?
We've all pulled all-nighters at some point. And while it might not seem like a big deal while you're in university, it's obvious that your body isn't thrilled with your choices. You often experience daytime fatigue the following morning, you don't have any energy, and you might even start seeing things that aren't there.
But can you die from lack of sleep? Well, yes and no. And if that answer has piqued your interest, keep reading, as we'll cover everything you need to know about the potential dangers of sleep deprivation.
Can You Die From Lack of Sleep?
We've all pulled all-nighters at some point. And while it might not seem like a big deal while you're in university, it's obvious that your body isn't thrilled with your choices. You often experience daytime fatigue the following morning, you don't have any energy, and you might even start seeing things that aren't there.
But can you die from lack of sleep? Well, yes and no. And if that answer has piqued your interest, keep reading, as we'll cover everything you need to know about the potential dangers of sleep deprivation.
And while this might already seem pretty bad, this isn't the end of it. In fact, these are the milder symptoms. But if you're suffering from severe sleep deprivation, the following symptoms can start popping up:
- Microsleeps
- Drooping eyelids
- Uncontrollable eye movements
- Hallucinations
- Hand tremors
- Difficulties when speaking
- Difficulties when making judgement calls
- Impulsive behaviour
And it's worth keeping in mind that these are just the symptoms of total sleep deprivation. In other words, we still aren't done. After all, there's a difference between not sleeping two nights in a row and consistently getting 4 hours of sleep over the span of a few years.
Symptoms of sleep deficiency
As we've mentioned, there's a difference between not sleeping for a few nights and when it's a long-term problem. So, when you have chronic sleep deprivation or some other form of sleep deficiency, here are the potential symptoms:
- Children might have issues paying attention and will be overly active
- Increased risk of heart disease
- Increased risk of kidney disease
- Increased risk of diabetes
- Increased risk of stroke
- Increased risk of obesity
- Increased risk of depression
- High blood pressure
And, all of these conditions can be fatal in certain situations. However, sleep loss on this level isn't too common and the thing that gets you in the end is indirect. But can complete or partial sleep deprivation directly kill someone?
Can You Die From Lack of Sleep?
We've all pulled all-nighters at some point. And while it might not seem like a big deal while you're in university, it's obvious that your body isn't thrilled with your choices. You often experience daytime fatigue the following morning, you don't have any energy, and you might even start seeing things that aren't there.
But can you die from lack of sleep? Well, yes and no. And if that answer has piqued your interest, keep reading, as we'll cover everything you need to know about the potential dangers of sleep deprivation.
- Falling asleep at the wheel can endanger your life and the lives of other people on the road. And even if you're awake, not getting enough restful sleep results in similar cognitive impairment as a high blood alcohol level.
- Hallucinations, both visual and tactile, can lead to the affected person hurting themselves or someone else.
- Hand tremors can be dangerous when handling dangerous machinery or weapons.
- Impaired judgement can cause harm in certain situations, such as while driving, handling weapons, or even just crossing a busy road.
So, in this way, you don't have to get a cardiovascular disease in order to be put in danger from sleep deprivation. However, while sleep deprivation increases the odds of fatal accidents, we still can't claim that it can directly kill someone.
What about the Russian Sleep Experiment?
When talking about the potential dangers of sleep deprivation, those who were around in the early days of the internet might remember the Russian Sleep Experiment. The story went that five people were forced to stay awake for five entire days, after being exposed to a gas that renders them unable to fall asleep.
However, within a few weeks, the five men had seemingly lost their minds and both their mental and physical health had completely deteriorated. However, has any of this actually happened?
Well, from what we could find, it seems very unlikely. However, that doesn't mean that scientists haven't tried similar experiments on animals. And if you really love animals, this might seem just as gruesome as the original experiment. So, skip the following paragraph if you don't want to read about animals being harmed.
Extreme sleep deprivation in animals
Even a quick Google search will show you that scientists have been examining the consequences of poor sleep in animals for quite some time. For example, while they didn't experiment on humans, a Russian scientist did look at how inadequate sleep affected puppies. And they concluded that a complete absence of sleep was fatal in their test subjects.
With that being said, this experiment was carried out in the late 1800s, so, the tools they had at their disposal were less than ideal. We can, however, see a more modern experiment of a similar nature done by Harvard.
And don't worry, no puppies were harmed this time around. Rather, they looked at sleep-deprived fruit flies. And the conclusion was rather fascinating. Namely, they found that what killed the flies wasn't the lack of sleep itself but rather a spike in the concentration of ROS molecules in the gut.
And this was far from a guess. This is because, when given something to neutralise the ROS levels, the fruit flies continued flying around even after days with no sleep! So, it would seem that lost sleep is only connected to our gut. However, more research needs to be done.
What about Fatal Familial Insomnia?
Although not nearly as popular as the Russian Sleep Experiment, some of you might have also heard of the condition Fatal Familial Insomnia. And since it has both the words fatal and insomnia, we wouldn't judge you for assuming it was a death caused by a lack of sleep.
However, that is not the case. FFI is an extremely rare disorder that makes it so that the person affected has a lot of difficulty falling asleep. It usually starts off as mild insomnia but can get worse over time. And while there is no cure, seeing a sleep specialist can help ease some of the symptoms.
Can You Die From Lack of Sleep?
We've all pulled all-nighters at some point. And while it might not seem like a big deal while you're in university, it's obvious that your body isn't thrilled with your choices. You often experience daytime fatigue the following morning, you don't have any energy, and you might even start seeing things that aren't there.
But can you die from lack of sleep? Well, yes and no. And if that answer has piqued your interest, keep reading, as we'll cover everything you need to know about the potential dangers of sleep deprivation.
Can You Die From Lack of Sleep?
We've all pulled all-nighters at some point. And while it might not seem like a big deal while you're in university, it's obvious that your body isn't thrilled with your choices. You often experience daytime fatigue the following morning, you don't have any energy, and you might even start seeing things that aren't there.
But can you die from lack of sleep? Well, yes and no. And if that answer has piqued your interest, keep reading, as we'll cover everything you need to know about the potential dangers of sleep deprivation.
And so on. Therefore, it can be difficult to avoid sleep deficiency for some people. Even just avoiding sleep debt (which is a lot milder) can be tough! And it's not like you can just snap your fingers and stop Restless Leg Syndrome or suddenly not feel stressed.
That's why it's so important to know what you're dealing with and to consult a professional when things start going sideways. So, even if you're currently fine, read up on sleep hygiene and see whether you're getting the most optimal sleep that you can!
Conclusion
It's no secret that sleep is very important. It helps our brain develop and a lack of sleep can cause certain cognitive issues. And as we've now learned, a lack of sleep can actually affect an animal's gut and lead to premature death! However, can you die from lack of sleep? Only indirectly.
Spread the word
Recommended reading:
There are no comments yet
"*" indicates required fields