Sleep Deprivation, Disorders, and Drugs 1

Sleep Deprivation, Disorders, and Drugs

By: Tammy Poe
PSY 240
May 29, 2010
Axia University of Phoenix






Sleep Deprivation, Disorders, and Drugs 2

I had a job that was ninety miles away from home, and I worked third shift, which I did not
like in the first place. The shifts were set up for employees who worked third shift to work four
days on and three days off one week, and the next week it was set up to work six days on and get
one day off. Each shift was twelve hours on and twelve hours off. It was a hot and it was hard
work, but I needed a job. My drive to and from work was about three hours round trip. I could
not get any sleep, and some days I did not sleep.
I had to find time in between driving, working, taking care of my new born son, and the
chores to sleep. I went one week with only two hours of sleep, and I almost wrecked my truck
coming home, because I was so exhausted. I was very moody, and I had no patients at all with no
one. I noticed that my behavior was bad, I developed road rage, I was rude, and cranky with
people. I could not remember things at all. I was forgetting doctors appointments, dental
appointments, and I was forgetting my directions. My being sleep deprived does coincide with
the effects described in the text.
The effects of long-term sleep-reduction are; daytime sleepiness, moodiness, behavioral
changes, disoriented, or the loss of mobile skills. Most of us have polyphasic sleep cycles; as
infants, we regularly sleep more than once per day. As adults, we experience monophasic sleep
cycles; we sleep once per day, and some adults show signs of polyphasic cycles of sleepiness
during the late afternoon and late morning. Some adults learn to adapt to the polyphasic cycle,
and feel this is a normal sleep pattern for them. Insomnia is a sleep disorder which many people
face every night of their lives.
People who claim they have Insomnia usually sleep six or more hours a night, but feel they
need more sleep. Spending more time in bed than they should, which makes it more difficult to
Sleep Deprivation, Disorders, and Drugs 3

fall asleep. In other words, Insomnia is iatrogenic (physician created), sleeping pills such as
benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines are prescribed by well-intentioned physicians, and are the
main cause of Insomnia. Hypnotic drugs are effective in increasing sleep, but then the patient
feels trapped in a rising spiral of drug use. These feelings are caused by a persons developing
tolerance level to the drug.
After a while a person feels they need more of the drug to get that hypnotic effect. After a
long period of time using a hypnotic drug, a person cannot just stop taking the drug without
facing the risk of experiencing withdrawal symptoms, such as Insomnia. Sleep apnea is another
common cause of insomnia. Patients who experience sleep apnea stop breathing many times
throughout the night, but each time the patient awakens, they begin to breathe again, and then
drift off to sleep again. Some people are unaware of their constant awakenings and complain of
excessive sleepiness during the day, which is diagnosed as hypersomnia.
There are two types of sleep apnea disorders; (1) those resulting from obstruction of the
respiratory passages by muscle spasms or atonia (lack of muscle tone), and (2) those resulting
from the failure of the central nervous system to stimulate respiration. Sleep apnea is more
common in males, overweight people, and the elderly. There are two other causes of insomnia;
nocturnal myoclonus and restless legs, both involve the legs. Nocturnal myoclonus is periodic
twitching of the body (usually the legs). Many patients suffer from poor sleep and daytime
sleepiness, and they are unaware of the nature of their problem.
People who suffer from restless legs are very aware of their problem. They complain of a
hard-to-describe tension or uneasiness in their legs that keep them from falling asleep.
(Pinel2007). Benzodiazepines are prescribed to patients with nocturnal myoclonus and restless
Sleep Deprivation, Disorders, and Drugs 4

legs because benzodiazepine is a hypnotic, antianxiety, muscle-relaxant, and anticonvulsant
properties. Narcolepsy occurs in one out of two thousand individuals, and has two symptoms; (1)
narcoleptics experience severe daytime sleepiness and repeated, 10 to 15 minute daytime sleep
episodes.
Narcoleptics usually only sleep an hour per day, and have inappropriate sleep episodes such
as during a conversation, while eating, while making love, or even scuba diving. The second
prominent symptom of narcolepsy is cataplexy. Cataplexy is recurring losses of muscle tone
during wakefulness, often triggered by an emotional experience. Some patients in a mild form
are forced to sit down and wait for a few seconds until it passes. Patients in extreme form, drop
to the ground as if shot and remains there for a minute or two, fully conscious.
Narcoleptics also experience two other symptoms; sleep paralysis: the ability to move when
falling asleep or waking up. Hypnagogic hallucinations: dreamlike experiences during
wakefulness. There are three lines of evidence that suggests that narcolepsy is a result of an
abnormality in the mechanism that triggers REM sleep. (1) Narcoleptics often go directly to
REM sleep when they fall asleep. (2) And (3) narcoleptics often experience dreamlike states and
loss of muscle tone during wakefulness. REM sleep-related disorders are classified as REM-
sleep-related disorders.
Narcolepsy is usually classified as a hypersomnic disorder and considered to be a REM-
sleep-related disorder. Antihypnotic drugs such as stimulants (cocaine and amphetamine) and
tricyclic antidepressants increase the activity of catecholamines (norepinephrine, epinephrine,
and dopamine) by either increasing their release or blocking their reuptake from the synapse, or
Sleep Deprivation, Disorders, and Drugs 5

both. The use of stimulant drugs to treat chronic excessive sleepiness is risky because most
stimulants are highly addictive, and produce a variety of side effects, such as loss of appetite.
Therefore, these drugs should be taken at the right doses and at the right times, because there
is a danger that they will interfere with normal sleep. Melatonin is a hormone that synthesizes
from the neurotransmitter serotonin in the pineal gland. The pineal gland is located in the midline
of the brain. Circulating levels of melatonin display circadian rhythm under control of the
suprachiasmatic nuclei, with the highest levels being associated with darkness and sleep.












Sleep Deprivation, Disorders, and Drugs 6

References
Pinel 2007. Retrieved 28, May 2010.