The Importance of a Good Night's Sleep

             A good night of sleep improves memory, increases thinking skills, and keeps us alert (Goodman 2011). Sleep and stress are said to go hand in hand, as does stress and higher blood pressure (Goodman 2011). The higher the stress, the higher the blood pressure. So an average adult gets about eight hours of sleep a night, children get nine and a half hours.(National Sleep Foundation 2014). When a human is deprived of sleep, the entire body and emotions are shifted for the worse. We feel less aware, disconnected from our bodies, almost out of body and focusing on even the most basic things is a challenge let alone learning or teaching material (National Sleep Foundation 2014).
             In a normal life, adults and children kid alike there are certain if not many days where we are not able to get a recommended amount of sleep, and the next day we have to engage in a job or school which means getting up early and using your functioning brain and body (National Sleep Foundation 2013). Chronic sleep deprivation can cause overall fatigue, a slower brain function ability, and daytime sleepiness (National Sleep Foundation 2014). Your blood pressure is at its highest when the heart is beating and pumping blood. This is systolic pressure. When the heart is at rest and between beats blood pressure falls. This is diastolic pressure. The lack of a functioning working body and a sleepy run down system must cause stressed systems. (Webmd 2012). An average blood pressure is 120/80. A stressed blood pressure can vary to something about 5-10 over your average (both systolic and diastolic). (American Heart Association 2014).
             To find out I tested on six individuals blood pressure,(the closest link we have to measuring stress) from nights that they got a solid 8-11 hours and from nights they get 2-6 hours. My hypothesis is the comparison of blood pressure (stress) on days when a person gets a good amount of sleep to days when they get minimal then the blood pressure will be increased on days they didn't get as good sleep because the bodies lack of simple functions with ease causes high stress.