People sleep less than before in many countries. Why do people sleep less? What effect does it have on an individual and on society?
Sleeping less / sleep deprivation/ depriving oneself of sleep/ shorter sleep duration/ hitting the bed later than before/ sacrificing sleep
Causes
- Overwhelming professional or academic obligations that keep people tied to their work for longer hours, and sometimes, they carry their work home
- Socializing when one is free
- Dedicating free time, that should be otherwise spent sleeping, to engaging with technology
- Smoking
- Sedentary lifestyle: lack of physical activity makes people prone to disturbed
- Mental ailments such as depression
- Noisy neighborhoods, especially those living near the main roads and clubs and party venues, suffer from this problem
Effect
- Lack of concentration, and Perennial drowsiness affecting productivity at work and studies
- Makes people age faster
- Ailments such as hypertension can afflict such people
- Irritability that causes one to lose temperament quickly, resulting in impulsive behavior
- Pick up fights with those around
- Hazards while driving
Poor work-life balance and daunting work and academic demand-led sleep deprivation has become a new normal today, but presents myriad complications to the affected individuals and those around them.
The primary driver of this rapidly proliferating propensity, or rather the compulsion, is meeting professional obligations within deadlines, mandating devoting extra hours at work, and even carrying assignments home. This is generally done at the cost of sleep duration - progressively shrinking considerably - and both professionals and students are prone to this circumstance. To corroborate, nearly seventy percent of urbanites world over, working or studying, complain about their jobs and education interfering with their sleeping routine.
Similarly, the urge to socialize and indulge with technology are other major sources of the motivation to stay awake longer than before. To exemplify, as per the report of the US Health department, almost every age group, across the world, is inclined to attending parties, watching television, playing computer games, and browsing social media, among others, even during wee hours, resulting in sleep deficit.
However, this behaviour is making people susceptible to unwarranted challenges: disruptions in circadian pattern, resulting from missing sleep can severely impact physical and mental wellbeing. Sleeplessness causes weakened digestion and appetites; lack of concentration; forgetfulness and irritable attitudes, and predisposes one to ailments, like hyper-tension, and diminishing performance. These factors also jeopardize the safety of others - road users and coworkers, impacting national productivity and health. For instance, the majority of mishaps on the roads, and in factories and offices are linked to drowsy drivers and operators.
In hindsight, the current penchant for forgoing sleep is bolstered by overwhelming work and academic pressure, and strong cravings for socializing and technology-driven entertainment, but is having dire consequences for health and social environment, demanding quick attention, and appropriate solutions.