Final argumentative Essay

Kenneth Zhen

English 21003, Section M

Professor Matyakubova

1 October 2017

The Role of Sleep for Health

There are many students and adults who are sleep deprived and doesn’t know the benefits of having a good sleep. Many people don’t realize they are endangering themselves being sleep deprived, they may realize that they aren’t getting enough sleep everyday but many of them, including me believe that it is ok to be sleep deprived and as long as we can function and go through the day. Truth is, sleep deprivation can cause serious health problems. Sleep is needed because it is the time you allow your body to recover. Sleep is what prepares you for the next morning, by sleeping you take away fatigue. After all who wouldn’t enjoy a good rest after a long day of work or school?

The sleep we lose is hard to get back. Not having enough sleep can cause an abnormal number of problems to our health/body. Although we may not notice anything changing or affecting our body. The situation may not be serious when sleep deprivation first starts, but losing sleep adds up and becomes harmful in the long run. Not having enough sleep cause problems like headaches, weight gain and organ malfunctions, and even death if severe.

Some may experience health issues, headaches, etc. People who may experience these health problems are unaware of what caused it. “During a national study about sleep habits in adolescents, we observed a very high frequency of headaches…” (Rebelo-Pinto). In this study their aim was to figure what are the factors that causes headaches. Many of the participants were between the ages of 12 to 22. Around half of the students that participated said that they experienced headaches on a daily basis. Many people at this day don’t get enough sleep. Sleep deprivation may be one of the factors for the cause of headaches.  According to the article “Headaches, Sleep and Academic Success in Adolescents” by Rebelo-Pinto, those who slept less hours during the weekdays and more on the weekends complained about headaches. This supports the suspicion of sleep deprivation being the cause of headaches.

Although the previous study shows that sleep deprivation is a cause for their headaches, it could also be environmental factors. Since many age groups are overwhelmed with work and school, the cause of their headaches could be from the stress they get. Even if it isn’t school or work that are causing their headaches, there could be other factors at play. Since we don’t know everything about everyone’s life, it could be that sleep deprivation was the final blow to activate a headache. It could be that they had problems at home or problems they have to deal with which can also cause stress.

Many people see the weekdays as a time where a lot of stress occur and where they can’t rest because of the amount of work. They view the weekend as a chance to catch up on sleep they have lost during the weekdays. This is a problem because sleeping more on the weekend does not recover the slept you have lost. It is better to keep a consistent sleep schedule, with the same number of hours on weekdays and weekends so that it doesn’t throw off your body’s sleep cycle.

Sleep deprivation can cause your heart to function in an abnormal way. According to the article “Acute Sleep Deprivation is Associated with Increased QT Dispersion in Healthy Young Adults” by Orhan Ozer, et al.  

“acute SD and electrocardiographic maximum QT interval (QTmax), QT, and corrected QT dispersion (QTd/cQTd)), which are known to be among predictors of ventricular arrhythmias and sudden death” (Ozer). They studied the electrocardiographs “(a device that detects and records the minute differences in electric potential caused by heart action and occurring between different parts of the body: used in the diagnosis of heart disease)”

This was tested on healthy young volunteers by testing a night of regular sleep and a night with less sleep. The results of this showed that even just a day of sleep deprivation can have effects like arrhythmias, which is disturbance in the rhythm of the heartbeat (Ozer 1). Most of us know that sleep is the only natural way to rest and restore our energy. What most of us don’t know is that having less sleep can result in consequences, that can haunt or cause us discomfort in the long run.  

Not only does sleep deprivation cause headaches and heart problems, sleep deprivation also causes weight gain. According to the article “Extremes of Sleep Related to Increase Fat Around Organs” by Bonnie Davis “Not getting enough sleep does more damage than just leaving you with puffy eyes. It can cause fat to accumulate around your organs – more dangerous, researchers say, than those pesky love handles and jiggly thighs” (Davis). Sleeping early and waking early is vital to us because not only does it benefit our appearance but also our health. It is not just what we consume that contributes to weight gain but not getting enough sleep is also a contribution to gaining weight.

Although what you consume plays a major role in weight gain. Sleep can also control the amount you consume a day. The amount of hours you sleep affects the how much you consume a day. The longer you stay up, you tend to consume more. If you consume more, you gain weight. Not getting enough sleep causes you to eat more and gain weight. If anything, sleep is like a special and natural type of medicine for our body. According to the article “Lack of Sleep Linked With Depression, Weight Gain and Even Death” by Meredith Melnick “… teens who didn’t get enough sleep consumed more calories than their well-rested peers. The study of 240 adolescents, average age 18, revealed that teenagers who slept less than 8 hours a night on weeknights ate 2% more calories from fat per day and 3% more calories from carbs than teens who slept longer” (1). Binge eating healthy is one thing but, people who sleep less tend to stray from a healthy palette. Eating unhealthy, regardless of sleep deprivation, causes harm to the body in the long run. “They also tended to get their calories from snacks instead of healthful meals. Cumulatively, this behavior increases risk of obesity and, in turn, the chances of developing cardiovascular disease later in life” (Melnick).

Another way how not getting enough sleep can cause weight gain is, according to the article “Lack of sleep makes fat cells sluggish” by Jessica Hamzelou, “‘tired’ fat cells might trigger obesity” (1). During her studies with her colleagues at University of Chicago Hamzelou tested fat cells taken from the bellies of seven adults about four nights of sleeping up to 8 and a half hours, and then again after four nights on only 4 and a half hours of sleep. The results were that after the 4 and a half hours of sleep, their body were 30% less responsive to insulin. “If you are not getting enough sleep, your fat cells may malfunction, causing you to pile on the pounds” (1). Sleep deprivation is the start of obesity.

Having too little sleep can also cause people to feel sluggish and lazy, or cause them to stress more. People who are stressed tends to get irritated over small things. This can cause problems in relationships or losing patience and yelling at kids. Being more stressed out can lead to depression, an emotional downfall that causes people to shun themselves from society. Less sleep for kids can cause lack of motivation and less concentrated so it can also affect how kids are doing in school.

Courtesy of http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2013/sleep.aspx?item=2

Sleep isn’t just as simple as rest and restoration of fatigue. It is an important factor when it comes to our health and life span. “Today, it is well known that although the primary function of sleep is rest and restoration, it is a complex and dynamic process that has considerable effects on the cardiovascular system” (Ozer 2). Although sleeping may not seem important for many people, having enough sleep does a lot to help our body and our health. Having enough sleep gives our body enough energy and rest that is needed.

Getting enough sleep daily is crucial for our health because if our body does not get enough sleep, it becomes detrimental in the long run. Many of the teens and adolescent believe that since they are young, they don’t need a lot of sleep, but they are wrong because sleep is required for our body to function properly. Most people choose to overwork or over study than sleeping. The only way to prevent this is being able understand how to manage time. Fitting in 6-8 hours of sleep each night you will be able to find some improvements in your weight loss and health. If everything else you have tried failed to make you healthier, maybe going back to the basics will fix things, like getting the right amount of sleep every night.

Even if sleeping is beneficial to your health, sleep too much can also be problematic. Study that shows how too much sleep can cause an increase of weight is “A new study by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine reveals how extremes of sleep – both too much and too little – can be hazardous to your health – especially for young minority women, a group most affected by obesity and chronic metabolic disease” (Davis).  This shows that not only does sleeping too little can cause obesity but, sleeping too much can also cause weight gain.

Letting your body sleep the amount of hours it needs is important because it affects the your actions and the way you perform throughout the day. It is possible to realize when someone is sleep deprived because when it shows in their actions, their facial expressions, and they would give you the sluggish vibe. It also starts to show on our face with dark circles, eye bags, etc. When the main factor of your health problems is sleep deprivation, you would really have wished that you haven’t missed out on the simplest way of staying healthy. You would wish all those sleepless nights was just a dream.

Work Cited

336-716-4587, Main Number: and Bonnie Davis: bdavis@wakehealth.edu336-713-1597. “Extremes of Sleep Related to Increased Fat Around Organs.” Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, 2 Mar. 2010, www.wakehealth.edu/News- Releases/2010/Extremes_of_Sleep_Related_to_Increased_Fat_Around_Organs.htm. Accessed 2 Oct. 2017.

Hamzelou, Jessica. "Lack of Sleep Makes Fat Cells Sluggish." New Scientist, vol. 216, no. 2887, 20 Oct. 2012, p. 14. EBSCOhost, ccny- proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=82579624&site=ehost-live.

@meredithcm, Meredith Melnick. “Lack of Sleep Linked With Depression, Weight Gain and Even Death.” Time, Time, 2 Sept. 2010, healthland.time.com/2010/09/02/lack-of- sleep-can-cause-depression-weight-gain-and-even-death/. Accessed 2 Oct. 2017.

OZER, ORHAN, et al. "Acute Sleep Deprivation Is Associated with Increased QT Dispersion in Healthy Young Adults." Pacing & Clinical Electrophysiology, vol. 31, no. 8, Aug. 2008, pp. 979-984. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/j.1540-8159.2008.01125.x.

Rebelo-Pinto, T., et al. "Headaches, Sleep and Academic Success in Adolescents." Sleep Medicine, vol. 14, Dec2013 Supplement, p. e241. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2013.11.583.