Sleep deprivation: A clinical perspective

While the function(s) of sleep, and the biological mechanisms regulating sleep continue to be elucidated, studies to date, along with everyday experience, underline the vital importance of normal sleep. Sleep deprivation (SD) can result from work and family commitments, as well as from multiple medical, psychiatric and sleep disorders. Such SD can result in adverse individual and public health consequences. SD is often overlooked and under-appreciated as a cause of, or major contributing factor to, such adverse outcomes. Research supports the common intuition that there is both a personal and societal limit to the amount of sleep loss that can be tolerated. Practical measures can usefully be taken at various levels to ensure adequate and quality sleep, thereby avoiding the worst consequences of SD. In this review, we will look briefly at the physiology and function of normal sleep, review the causes and effects of SD and suggest where beneficial intervention can be made.