Sleep deprivation can kill if the person chooses to drive. Over one hundred thousand of car accidents a year are caused by the driver either falling asleep at the wheel or the driver being too tired to react quickly or concentrate. Sleepy drivers are more dangerous than drunk drivers because accidents caused by intoxicated drivers were only fifteen thousand. With over one fourth of the American population suffering from sleep deprivation, then the numbers will continue to grow and become even more dangerous.
Sleep deprivation can also kill you through an illness. When suffering from sleep deprivation your immune system weakens significantly. You immune system needs sleep so it can catch up while the rest of your body is at rest. If the immune system is not allowed to catch up, then you may catch various illnesses. Illnesses that normally may be easy to overcome will be much harder with a weak immune system. It is possible, depending on what you get, that your body may not be capable of fighting off the illness, and if it is serious enough, you may die.
There are a variety of other effects that a lack of sleep can cause, if it is allowed to go to an extreme severity than you may die. Your body needs sleep to maintain its health, and without its health, then you can easily become sick or injured and not be strong enough to fight off the sickness or heal from the injury. It is best not to risk losing sleep, take the proper precautions and allow yourself to sleep.
While no human being has yet died from sleep deprivation, humans have died from the effects of sleep deprivation. Also, animal studies have shown that it is very likely we can die from simply not sleeping, just no human has been able to go that long because they either sleep or they die from the effects of not sleeping. But, it is reasonable to say that if we lack in sleep too much, our bodies may just shut down for good. Despite current research and studies, we still cannot give a definite βyesβ that a lack of sleep does in fact cause death, but there are many deaths that are related to the disease.
Do not risk it, and find ways to help you sleep today. Talk to your doctor about possible medications and cures for sleep deprivation. Try to avoid things that cause you to lose sleep. Also, avoid stressing about sleeping. This can cause you not to sleep and you will be up all night tossing and turning thinking about how much you need sleep. Do not do this to yourself.
Jorge Reis is the author of
How to boost your immune system and
Why does my back crack.
