Almost everyone has encountered a zombie-like feeling after a night of minimal or no sleep. Even after just one night without enough rest, we can feel drowsy during the day with slowed thinking, lack of energy, and an irritable mood.

Sleep deprivation is when you don’t get the sleep you need, and it is It’s estimated to affect around one-third of American adults , a problem that has only worsened in recent years.

Lack of sleep directly affects how we think and feel. While the short-term impacts are more noticeable, chronic sleep deprivation can heighten the long-term risk of physical and mental health problems.

To avoid these problems, it’s important to avoid sleep deprivation. Understanding this condition, including its causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment can put you in a better position to ensure that you’re getting the sleep you need.

What is Sleep Deprivation?

The term sleep deprivation refers to getting less than the needed amount of sleep, which, for adults, ranges from seven to nine hours of sleep per night. Children and teens need even more nightly sleep than adults.

Are All Definitions of Sleep Deprivation the Same?

In sleep medicine, sleep deprivation is defined based on sleep duration, which is the total amount of time a person spends asleep. In reality, though, being well-rested is about more than just how many hours you sleep. As a result, the terms sleep deficiency or sleep insufficiency are more frequently used to describe factors that reduce the quantity and/or quality of sleep and keep a person from waking up refreshed.

In this way, sleep deficiency has a broader application. For example, a person who sleeps for a total of eight hours but with many awakenings that fragment their sleep may have insufficient sleep even though their sleep duration technically meets the recommended amount.

This terminology can be distinct from everyday conversation in which the term sleep deprivation may be used with a wider meaning that refers to poor sleep overall and not just total sleep duration.

Even in the medical field, studies may use different technical definitions of sleep deprivation as some classify it as seven hours of sleep or fewer while others use six hours as the cutoff.

 Are There Different Types of Sleep Deprivation?

Sleep deprivation and sleep insufficiency may be categorized in different ways depending on a person’s circumstances.

• Acute sleep deprivation refers to a short period, usually a few days or less, when a person has a significant reduction in their sleep time.
• Chronic sleep deprivation, also known as insufficient sleep syndrome, is defined by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine as curtailed sleep that persists for three months or longer.
• Chronic sleep deficiency or insufficient sleep can describe ongoing sleep deprivation as well as poor sleep that occurs because of sleep fragmentation or other disruptions.