Good sleep is necessary for optimal health and can affect hormone levels, mood and weight. Sleep helps us the human body physically restores itself, heal itself and remove metabolic wastes which build up during periods of activity. The brain, especially, requires sleep for restoration. Restoration generally takes place when body temperature, heart rate, and brain oxygen consumption decreases.
Getting a good night’s sleep is key to performing at your best during the day. Loss of sleep can affect you if not taken seriously. It can affect ones ability to focus on environmental sensory input which can play a significant role in accidents.
Sleep deprivation occurs when an individual gets less sleep than they need to feel awake and alert.

How do you know you’re sleep deprived?

* yawning every minute
* Fatigue
* Restlessness
* moodiness
* irritability
* forgetfulness
* inability to concentrate
* lack of motivation
* reduced sex drive

As at 2015, the recommendations for appropriate sleep durations for specific age groups was:
* Newborns (0 to 3 months): 14 to 17 hours each day
* Infants (4 to 11 months): 12 to 15 hours
* Toddlers (1 to 2 years): 11 to 14 hours
* Preschoolers (3 to 5 years): 10 to 13 hours
* School-age children (6 to 13 years): 9 to 11 hours
* Teenagers (14 to 17 years): 8 to 10 hours
* Adults (18 to 64 years): 7 to 9 hours
* Older adults (over 65 years): 7 to 8 hours

When you deprived your body of sleep:

-You indirectly weaken your immune system making you susceptible to infections.
-It affects your ability o produce certain hormones especially the growth hormone and testosterone in men.
-It can also lead to weight gain, due to the release of insulin

If you as a person cannot get sleep physically without the help of drugs and in so cases you just can’t get the sleep even with drugs, you should go see a therapist or sleep specialist. They will be able to offer guidance on how to go about it.
Generally the treatment for sleep deprivation is to satisfy the biological sleep need. Basically just sleep.

Another way one can also treat sleep deprivation is by:
-To get some sleep when nature calls
-Have a sleep routine, set a timer, never snooze
-Ensure your bedroom is properly aerated, neat.
-Change your sheets regularly
-Exercise regularly
-Eat healthy

If sleep deprivation and it’s symptoms persist despite doing the aforementioned, you should pay your doctor a visit