It is extremely important for everyone to get an adequate amount of sleep. However, many people often ignore it. When people do not get enough sleep they may experience something called sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation can have many negative effects. When people do not get enough sleep or less than seven hours, they may feel irritated and unable to function as well as they normally would the next day. Balancing work and raising children can be extremely difficult in today's society. The demand for our time is incredible. Juggling children, work, taking care of our homes, and participating in extracurricular activities are a lot for one person to manage on a day-to-day basis. My brother is single parent and has his share of sleepless nights, especially when either my brother or my nephew becomes sick or when my brother works extra shifts at work. The last time I remember talking with my brother he mentioned what a horrible night's sleep he had. I asked him what he did the night before and he told me he had picked up an extra shift and work to get a few hours of overtime. He had also been battling a bad cold. Despite his illness he was able to get through a twelve-hour shift and get five hours of overtime.
I also found out that my nephew was not feeling very well and had a fever. He was vomiting, and could not keep any fluids down. Being ill and restless, my nephew was only able to sleep an hour at a time. This did not give my brother much time to sleep either. After taking my nephew to the doctor my brother mentioned he did not feel like himself. He said he was impatient, irritable, and not in a good mood at all. He told me that he had to have the doctor repeat things several times because he was having trouble following the doctors instructions. I told my brother that I had been like that last fall during finals week, when I stayed up late to study. I suggested that he get some rest and pass on the overtime for a few days to recover.