Sleep Deprivation- Know more about what type of sleeper you are and what effects it

Sleep deprivation is a problem for many.  It is a problem that causes a dramatic lack of sleep or gives poor-quality sleep. These result in symptoms such as feeling exhausted throughout the day, feeling irritable more often, and experiencing more anxiety, depression, and paranoia. It can commonly seem that just trying to put yourself to sleep is the easiest solution, but in reality sleep deprivation can be caused by many factors which disturb our brain, therefore making it harder to sleep. Many effects are hard to recognize, especially if our concentration is already so low.

First and foremost, it is important to know that the majority of the time sleep deprivation is caused by unhealthy habits which disturb your sleep cycle. There are a variety of things that determine that of poor sleep, such as:

• Schedule

If in your daily routine, you are constantly changing your sleep schedule (not having consistent sleeping and waking up times), it will lead to difficulty achieving a good night’s sleep. This is because the rhythms in our body that guide body temperature, metabolism, and sleep cycle are overall disrupted.

• Screen time

The blue light from our screen awakes the eyes, and the content on our phones alerts the brain. As a result, both our eyes and brain lose their process of powering off before sleep, followed by the body being more alert and unable to relax. Even though falling asleep eventually is possible, screen time delays it by time, making us lose the amount of sleep necessary for us.

• Eating

Eating something heavy too late into the night can cause digestive issues and make it harder to sleep, or produce really poor sleep quality.

If you are having some trouble sleeping and recognize some symptoms within yourself, acknowledge that it may just be habits keeping you from achieving a comfortable night’s rest. That being said, it is also beneficial to know how your own sleep schedule works.

Getting to know yourself and what your body is best accustomed to can be a huge help when overcoming physical challenges like these. When it comes to sleep, there are schedules categorized by “types.”  These are referred to as chronotypes. Each chronotype is titled after an animal and has a sleep schedule which it represents (For ex. Bears sleep after the sun goes down and wake up when the sun comes up). Here listed are the four chronotypes and what their schedules are. If these schedules match or look familiar to yours, you are most likely associated with that chronotype.

1. The Bear Chronotype

This chronotype is the most common. They wake up at a reasonable time in the morning and also go to sleep at a reasonable time at night. Bears usually have less energy during the afternoon, being the most productive during noon. If this schedule sounds like yours, you are part of half the population which is the bear chronotype.

2. The Wolf Chronotype

            Wolves are not as balanced as bears and are considered to be night owls. They mostly sleep during the day and are more active during the night. However, during the afternoon or evening are the times they are most productive. Mornings are the times when they do not feel active or productive. If you think you are the same, you are the wolf chronotype.

3. The Lion Chronotype

Like wolves, they are also not as balanced as bears. Yet, their schedules are the opposite of the wolf chronotypes. Lions in comparison are early birds, meaning they prefer to wake up very early in the morning and go to sleep very early at night. Their activeness and productiveness are the most present during the morning and the noon. If you take pride in also being an early bird, you are the lion chronotype. 

4. The Dolphin Chronotype

Dolphins are the rarest chronotype. What signifies them is that they get disturbed by sounds or lights around them easily. They have no specific schedule but have a specific productivity time period which is from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm. If you find yourself falling into a mix of the other chronotypes above, you are most likely a dolphin

Knowing these factors and information about sleep can really help build a productive schedule and a comfortable sleep routine. Sleep is very important if functioning with energy to get through the day is what you need, or even if it is just to pass by without any tiredness. 

Works Cited

Cassoobhoy, Arefa. “Causes of Sleep Problems.” WebMD, 24 March 2023, https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/sleep-disorders-causes. Accessed 27 November 2024.

“What Are Sleep Chronotypes & Which One Are You? | St. Joseph Health.” St. Joseph Health, 23 February 2021, https://stjoseph.stlukeshealth.org/healthy-resources/blogs/what-are-sleep-chronotypes-which-one-are-you. Accessed 27 November 2024.