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Sleep is essential to the total well-being of a person and helps one's ability to perform basic tasks of everyday life. Thus, lacking sufficient amounts of sleep have negative consequences to both the behavioral and physical health of an individual. One who is lacking of sleep may suffer from the decreases in cognitive functioning, immunity to disease, behavioral abnormalities, and in extreme cases, accidents and even death, by falling asleep while driving a car ("Article on Teen," par. 1). They are likely to be less alert, attentive, and unable to concentrate effectively. As sleep deprivation becomes persistent, it can cause significant mood swings, erratic behavior, hallucinations, and even death in extreme cases. According to Dr. William Dement, a pioneer in sleep research, there are three "fundamental triumvirate of health": physical fitness, good nutrition, and healthy sleep, and he suggests that it is essential to learn the importance of all of them ("Introduction," sec. 2). .
There are many causes of sleep deprivation and a majority of them are of personal reasons. One of the most common causes of sleep deprivation is stress and anxiety. It is completely natural for a person to become anxious and uptight about the things that are happening in their environment. Whether it may be work pressure, family problems, or health worries, everyone can relate to the experience of lying awake in bed and thinking over their problems, while desperately wanted to get some sleep ("Sleep Deprivation: Causes and Consequences" 1). Jet lag and commuting to a job are two additional causes to sleep deprivation. Crossing time zones break the synchronization of the circadian rhythm, thus leading to the characteristic symptoms of jet lag, such as transient insomnia, irritability, poor concentration, headaches, and mood change. The time to sleep is may also be significantly reduced if one commutes to a job, which usually involves getting up extremely early to travel to work, and getting home much later from work ("Personal Causes" 3).
