All-nighter

Voluntary sleep deprivation is the practice of depriving one's self of regular sleep patterns and a natural amount of sleep.

Reasons

There are a variety of reasons a person would wish to deprive themselves of sleep. These include:

Academic culture

Voluntary sleep deprivation (commonly reffered to as "all-nighters") is commonplace among college students (or members of any educational institution), who stereotypically (in western cultures) put off studying and projects until the last minute. Some universities and educators have expressed concern with this trend, and tried to find ways to decrease sleep loss among their students, either by reorganizing work to enable better study habits, or simply exhorting students to improve their time management. However, increasing workloads and more after school activities also may contribute to "all nighters".

Recreation

Someone may deprive themselves of sleep to provide entertainment. Sleep deprivation often causes hallucinations, feelings of disorientation, and other effects similar to that of some hallucinogenic drugs.

Addiction

Often conditions such as drug addiction and computer addiction will lead to sleep deprivation in order to satisfy the addiction.

Symptoms

Any form of sleep deprivation can cause many undesirable side-effects in both the short and long term. Frequent sleep deprivation pose many risks to a person's health. Some of these symptoms include:

Aching muscles ADHD-like symptoms Blurred vision Clinical depression Colorblindness Daytime naps Decreased mental activity Decreased concentration Decreased ability for the immune system to fight off sickness Dizziness Symptoms similar to those of acute ethanol intoxication Dark circles under the eyes Fainting General confusion Hallucinations Hand tremors Headache

Hernia Hyperactivity Hypertension Impatience Irritability Lucid dreams (once sleep resumes) Memory lapses / memory loss Nausea Nystagmus (rapid involuntary rhythmic eye movement) Psychosis Pale skin tone (looking pasty) Slowed reaction time Slurred and/or nonsensical speech Weight loss Weight gain Yawning

Stimulants

Commonly during sleep deprivation lasting more than 24 hours, people use stimulants to help keep them awake and alert. Commonly used stimulants such as caffeine (found in coffee) and sugar will all provide a quick "boost" to a person's energy levels, however are usually followed by a rapid decline in energy, known as a "crash".

See also

• Energy drink
• Insomnia
• Polyphasic sleep
• Sleep