Sleep Deprivation and Suicide

Did you know that you need 9 or more hours of sleep a day? Think of the times you didn’t sleep. How did you feel? People tend to feel depressed and emotional. Some people even get anxiety and suicidal. Our body needs sleep, sleep helps the brain and body rest. Sleep also plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout a persons life. Getting enough quality sleep at the right times can help protect your mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety. Imagine being sleep deprived; your health might be in some danger.

Baby yawning

 

Sleep deprivation is when someone gets less sleep than needed to feel awake and alert. People vary in how little sleep is needed to be considered sleep deprived. Sleep is a neutral state, during which both memory consolidation and homeostatic preservations take place (Lingguo 1). Some people such as older adults seem to be more resistant to the effects of sleep deprivation, while others, especially children and young adults, are more vulnerable. After around 16 hours of staying awake, the body attempts to balance the need for sleep. Some people may consider sleep as wasted time and purposely deprive themselves of sleep to pursue other things such as entertainment, educational goals and much more. This intentional sleep deprivation is most likely to be seen in teenagers and young adults.

An inability to sleep is one of the key signs of clinical depression. Another sign of clinical depression is sleeping too much or oversleeping. Having a sleep disorder does not in itself cause depression, but lack of sleep does play a role. Lack of sleep caused by another medical illness or by personal problems can make depression worse. In a study of sleep difficulties in 140 adolescence suicide victims, 131 adolescents control and compared rates of sleep disturbance (Mental Health Practice 24). An inability to sleep that lasts over a long period of time is also an important clue that someone may be depressed. Clinical depression is a mood disorder. It causes you to feel sad, hopeless, worthless, and helpless. When you feel sad for long periods and the feelings become intense, the depressed mood and its associated physical symptoms can keep you from living a normal life.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death in young people. A major cause of suicide is mental illness, very commonly depression. Suicide completers had a higher rates of overall sleep disturbance (Mental Health Practice 24). People feeling suicidal are overwhelmed by painful emotions and see death as the only way out, losing sight of the fact that suicide is a permanent “solution” to a temporary state—most people who try to kill themselves but live later say they are glad they didn’t die. Most people who die by suicide could have been helped. An individual considering suicide frequently confides in a friend, who may be able to convince them to seek treatment. When the risk is high, concerned friends and relatives should seek professional guidance. Suicidal thoughts may be fleeting or more frequent, passive. Preparations for death, such as giving away possessions or acquiring a gun, are cause for great concern. A sudden lift in spirits in a depressed person can be a warning sign that they are planning to kill themselves. Any level of suicidal thinking should be taken seriously.

Sleep deprivation as you see is linked to suicide. Studies shown that your body needs sleep and when it lacks it, your body starts to shut down. Making irrational decisions and even memory loose will accrue more often. When your child is sleeping in on a Sunday don’t go and wake them up, let the sleep because they need it. Let your children sleep as much as possible in a health manner. Any signs of them not sleep talk to them about it and get them help.

 

by Zofia K