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Sleep deprivation has negative effects on a person's mood, cognitive function, motor performance, and physiological function. (Pinel, 2007). A person may experience three consistent effects if they receive [only] three [to] four hours of sleep in one night (Pinel, 2007). The first effect is that a person may experience an increase in sleepiness. If given the opportunity to go to sleep, they may fall asleep [quicker than usual] (Pinel, 2007). The second effect is that a person may display mood swings. Lastly, a person's performance in mundane tasks may be sufficiently compromised. Another sleeping disorder worth mentioning is insomnia. It is a common sleep disorder that prevents a person from getting an adequate amount of restful sleep. It is a sleep disorder that causes difficulty falling asleep or causes frequent cycles of waking up often during the night and having trouble going back to sleep (Pinel, 2007). People who suffer with this sleeping disorder may sleep six hours or more a night, but they believe that they should sleep more (Pinel, 2007). People who suffer chronic insomnia may be prescribed drugs to treat the disorder. Some drugs that can be used to treat insomnia are Lunesta, Ambien, and Rozerem. These drug medications have side effects such as drowsiness. .
Another family member of mine, my god-father, suffers from sleep apnea. This is another common cause of insomnia that occurs when a person's breathing is interrupted during sleep (Pinel, 2007). "People with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing for up to ten seconds as frequent as fifteen times per hour" (Fox 551). There are two types of sleep apnea disorders: obstructive sleep apnea and central apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by a blockage of the airway. Central apnea causes the failure of the central nervous system to stimulate breathing (Pinel, 2007). Surgery may be used to correct defects in the upper airway that contribute to sleep apnea.